


Dangerous Liaisons

by chains_archivist



Series: Dangerous Liaisons By Christine Hagar [1]
Category: Gundam Wing
Genre: Angst, Boys in Chains, Duotorture, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, M/M, Prostitution
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-15
Updated: 2015-03-15
Packaged: 2018-03-17 21:55:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 76,788
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3545153
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chains_archivist/pseuds/chains_archivist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Duo's past returns to haunt him as he receives an unusual order and he has to make some hard choices.</p><p>By Christine Hagar</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Part 1

**Author's Note:**

> Note from Dusk, the archivist: this work was originally archived at [Boys in Chains](http://fanlore.org/wiki/Boys_in_Chains), which opened in 2000 as a multifandom archive for both fiction and art, but then sadly went offline in 2005. To bring the archive back, I began manually importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project in December 2014. Open Doors [posted an announcement](http://archiveofourown.org/admin_posts/1832) and e-mailed all creators about the move, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this [author/artist], please [contact the Open Doors committee](http://transformativeworks.org/contact/open%20doors).

INTERLUDE I

Duo snuck into the base easily. Even after six months of terrorist activities, OZ still hadn't gotten their act together about security. You would think after all the damage that had been done by them at Victoria base and other places, that these people would get a clue about security. Especially since it was where their darling Trieze Khushenada was staying. Duo shook his head and started to ease his way into the room, 'This is just too pathetic,' he thought, 'Almost as pathetic as the sight of Kushendra passed out at his desk, again.'

This was the third time that he had found him like that. The first time that he had come here, he had left as quietly as he had come. He was not going to start anything with a guy so drunk that when Duo poured water on his head he didn't stir. Trieze had left the building for the night. Duo just made sure that he had a bucket, aspirin and water near him when he woke. The second time he managed to haul him out of his office and off to his bedroom. Also leaving a bucket and water within easy reach. He hoped that Trieze was guessing that whatever looks after drunks had been taking care of him. Duo felt sorry for Kushrendra and a little bit of sympathy. The poor sod had gotten dumped by his lover, which was why Duo had been sent here.

Dr. G and the rest of the Mad Five thought that Duo might be able to seduce him, catch him on the rebound. If that didn't neutralize Treize, then kill him. If it worked, then follow their plan. It was simple really, to try and control Treize with sex. Just to keep tabs on the guy. And Duo had been chosen to be the one to do it. Duo still saw the look on Dr. G's face when he gave him the orders. Duo knew that this assignment was revenge for turning Dr. G down for a tumble in between the sheets. There was far too much glee in his eyes when he basically ordered him to be a whore for the cause. After hustling most of his life, he had been happy to be able to turn someone down. If he had to do it again, he didn't know if he would make the same decision, but Treize was a lot easier to look at then Dr. G, so he knew which way he was leaning towards.

Duo shuddered when he thought who the alternative first choice had been, Wufei. He was only thought of because he had long hair also. The general's last lover had long hair, it was a look that they thought he went for. Wufei trying to seduce someone was just too hilarious for words. But if neither of them worked out, try the next pilot in line, they were interchangeable in the scientists' eyes.

Then Wufei and Heero had managed to crawl into the sack together, which was a miracle. He had not thought that either boy had figured out what sex was. Duo crossed his eyes on what he thought that their pillow talk might be like. Not that either boy talked much. But it was nice that the two of them had managed to find each other, even though that left him out in the cold.

Duo wasn't going to let his personal longings ruin that relationship. Duo had eyed either boy for a bed partner before the two of them had decided to jump each other. He was just glad that he wasn't the one that had found them rolling around on the gym floor like two minks. That had been Quatre. The boy was still blushing from that incident. Not that he disapproved of what had happened, but Quatre was more of the shy type and Trowa wasn't much better. That the other two were even having a relationship was something that had been up in the air for a while, until Duo caught them kissing.

So Duo got to play with the general. Yippee. And the bastard wasn't cooperating because he was too drunk and depressed about Zechs leaving him. You'd think it was the first time. Duo was peeved and frustrated. No one was worth this amount of grief. You roll with the fact that the bastard left you and then got onto greener pastures. Love sucked and the sooner that you learned it the better.

Duo shook his head and leaned over to attempt to pick up Trieze and drag him back to his bedroom. Another wasted night. At least it got him away from the lovebirds. They were driving him crazy and he wasn't up to more of his happy happy joy joy routine for them. He was lonely, pissed and jealous. And really stupid to think that this would actually work. But he had run out of time. Dr. G was asking about results and wasn't taking any more excuses. His final orders had been to make it with Trieze if the guy was sober, drunk or dead.

Duo was lifting Trieze up and was supporting him with his shoulder, when he moaned and whispered "MiriÖ"

Duo sighed and guided his steps into the bedroom and eased him on the bed. Trieze must have the worst luck with lovers if they keep leaving him likethis, who the hell was Miri? Shouldn't he be moaning Zechs name? That might be why the other pilot left him. He could begin to see why Treize was hitting the bottle.

Duo slowly took off Treize's boots and pants. He really didn't want to do this, but the threat of 'if you can't do it, we will find another pilot that was willing to follow orders'. And he could forget about ever climbing back into the cockpit again. Duo was willing to do a lot to keep flying Shinigami. Including trying to help guy that seemed to be too drunk to know his own name, get laid. It wasn't like he hadn't had this challenge before.

Duo leaned over and took off his coat and shirt. Duo couldn't understand why someone would be wearing so many clothes. It was May, warm and he felt perfectly dressed in black long sleeved T-shirt and jeans. No wonder OZ's electricity bill was outrageous, these people were wearing wool coats in May, and kept the air conditioning going full blast. He had managed to getall of Trieze's clothes off when he woke up.

"LoveÖ" he moaned and kissed Duo. "You came backÖ"

Duo, after a split second of hesitation, started to kiss back. He was glad that he was above and behind Treize or there would be problems. He kept his body as far away has he could from Treize, knowing that one grope would cause this illusion to fail. Zechs was a foot taller then he was and built like a Greek god. He was just a skinny street waif. Hell they also weren't going to kiss the same too, but he hoped it was close enough to fool Treize, he seemed drunk enough not to care. It seemed to be working or at least he wasn't complaining. And it kept his mouth shut so he wouldn't scream for help.

Duo deepened the kiss, hoping that the alcohol would kick in again and Treize would pass out once more. He could then say that he had done something with him, besides TLC for his hangover. No such luck. Trieze was checking to see if he still had his tonsils with his tongue and trying to grab Duo. Duo bought some time by letting his hair loose. Zech's hair was almost as long as his and he probably used it to torment his lover. Duo slowly started to stroke Trieze's chest with his hair, tickling him so that he broke the kiss, letting the two of them breathe.

Treize opened his eyes with that move and tried to focus them. He blinked, and looked at the hair that was covering his chest and arms. It wasn't Zech's platinum mane, but a rich chestnut. He focused a little more and was fascinated by the colors that he saw in that hair. It wasn't just chestnut, but honey blonde and auburn with streaks of gold. It was beautiful. And who the hell did it belong to? The hair moved and he followed its path upward to the face of the owner of such a mane.

"Duo Maxwell," he breathed and opened his mouth to shout. Duo decided to silence Treize fast and effectively. He kissed him again, plunging his tongue into the general's mouth and sparing with his tongue. Knowing that his cover was blown, Duo started to stroke Treize's chest, lightly running his fingers over his nipples and collarbones. Trieze moaned and surprisingly kissed back, sucking on Duo's tongue, breaking off the kiss after a while, starting to nibble at Duo's mouth and neck. Duo wasn't surprised to feel Treize's arms wrapping around him and flipping him on the bed. Trieze moved to pin Duo down, surprised at the lack of resistance that he got from the Gundam pilot at this move. He expected him to put up some sort of fight.Duo knew that in wrestling match, the General would beat him hands down, since he out weighted him by at least twenty kilos, all of it muscle. He didn't have the strength to break out of his hold, so he counter attacked by starting to suck on Trieze's right nipple.

Treize had opened his mouth to ask him again what he was doing there, but all that came out was a groan. Duo switched to the other nipple and bit at it gently, before stating to suck on it. He then grabbed Treize's ass and thrust his hips upward. That move caused the Treize to collapse on Duo, loosening the hold that he had on his arms and catching his weight on his elbows. Treize started to attempt to thrust into Duo, annoyed that the boy was still clothed while he was naked. Treize, with an effort stopped moving and grabbed at the boy's head to kiss him again. Duo wiggled around so that he was more comfortable kissing Treize and returned the kiss enthusiastically. Treize let go of Duo long enough to lift his body off the boy's and strip him of his jeans.

Treize and Duo moaned together as their naked cocks rubbed and bobbed against each other. Duo was glad that his cock had been freed. It had been maddening to be trapped in those stiff jeans when he wanted to feel flesh against flesh. If he was going to do this he might as well enjoy it. Treize shifted his weight into his hips, trapping Duo again underneath his weight. Not that Duo minded. He writhed underneath Treize and whimpered when he stopped kissing him. Treize smiled down at Duo and stripped off his shirt.

He tangled Duo's hands in his top. Duo was attempting to free himself from this, when Treize licking the side of his neck caused him to stop. Treize gradually increased the pressure behind those licks and started to nibble his way down Duo's torso.

"Silk," he muttered, "You're made of silk and moonlight." He worked his way down Duo's hips to his thighs and started to suck on his inner thighs, ignoring Duo's cock and balls. Duo writhed and jerked at his shirt until his hands where free, not caring that he ripped his shirt in his frantic movements. He wanted to touch Treize, caress him, give him pleasure in return, he was not going to lie there like a lump. He had been celibate far too long and he wanted touch someone, not hit them. There had been too much violence in his life. Treize was ignoring what was going on above his targeted area, or so Duo thought. He didn't realize that Treize could move that fast until the larger man had grabbed his wrists and he was trapped again.

Treize leaned over again and kissed Duo until he was breathless. "What are you doing here?" he asked, the alcohol in his brain being cleared out by the lust that he was feeling for this boy trapped below him. He wanted him, badly and could tell by Duo's reactions that the feeling was mutual. That didn't explain what the pilot was doing in his bedroom.

Duo grinned cheekily at Treize. "If you're really goodÖI'll tell you. But who needs to talk. Fucking each other silly is what both of our bodies seem to be interested in right now. You can always turn me in after you get laid."

He backed up his statement by arching his body against Trieze's and moaning softly. Duo leaned up and started to nibble on Treize's torso, enjoying the gasps that his tongue and teeth wrung from the older man. He slipped out of Treize's grasp when he was distracted by what Duo's mouth was doing. Duo managed to force Treize to back on his heels from the direction that his mouth was going. Duo rose on his hands and knees to take better aim at his target. Treize almost screamed when Duo suddenly took his entire length in his mouth, sucking furiously. After the first intense minute, Duo slowed down to tease Treize's cock gently, sucking the head softly and gently stroking at his balls.

Treize leaned over and started to stroke Duo's glistening back, tickling down his spine until he reached the dimple that marked the end of his spine. Duo arched his back in reaction to Treize's touch, moans spilling out of his mouth as he played with his cock. Trieze kneaded Duo's buttocks gently and then started to tease the crack that separated them. Duo wiggled and shifted in reaction to the sensations that he was feeling, but kept up teasing Treize's cock until it started to throb in his mouth. Duo swirled his tongue around the head one last time and then started to gently nip at Treize's balls. Trieze moaned and found Duo's entrance, started to stretch and loosen the muscles there. Duo hissed with the discomfort and then thrust himself against the motion when Trieze's finger found his prostrate. He saw stars and froze for a moment, his entire body screaming with pleasure, the discomfort being blocked out by the pure joy that hitting that spot caused.

"Lubricant?" Duo asked, stopping what he was doing long enough to ask that question, when all the nerves in his body stopped singing at him. It had been a while and he did wanted to be able to walk straight tomorrow. Trieze pulled his thoughts together, as he withdrew his finger. Duo moaned and felt himself being lifted up. Treize started to kiss him again as he maneuvered the two of them down onto the bed. He let Duo up for air long enough to open the draw to the nightstand and grab the small jar that was in there.

Treize paused to stare down at Duo. The pilot's eyes were half closed and glazed over. His mouth was swollen from the kisses that he received and Trieze couldn't wait to feel another part of him around his shaft. Duo moaned and started to writhe when Trieze returned his attention to him, stretching him and playing with him until he was whimpering helplessly.

"Fuck meÖdon't play with me." Duo demanded as he felt himself get closer to losing it then he wanted to be.

Treize smiled down cruelly as he very slowly entered the boy, wrapping his legs around his waist. Duo arched his back and whimpered more as Treize filled him completely and then just stopped. Duo just held his position, waiting for Treize to start thrusting in him. The only part of his body that was on the bed was his shoulders, as he stared Treize down.

Treize on his part was just barely able to hold himself in check. He wanted nothing more then to thrust hard and fast into Duo until both of them screamed with pleasure. He also knew that he was driving Duo insane by not moving.

It became a game of chicken, to see who would give in first. The slight trembling that became more apparent to Treize as Duo struggled to hold the position that he was in was the small signal that Duo was about to give in and move. He was unprepared for the squeeze that Duo gave to his cock. They both broke at that little movement. Treize thrusting hard and fast into Duo, hitting that magic spot inside him until they both screamed simultaneously and collapsed. Treize crumbled onto Duo's chest, smearing the both of them with Duo's seed that had spattered all over him. Duo savored the feel of Treize filling him. They lay there, panting. Treize dazedly lifted himself off Duo so he could breath. He didn't want to move. The feel of Duo around him was exquisite and he leaned over to kiss him some more. Duo returned his kisses, not stopping until Treize slowly withdrew from him as his shaft softened.

Trieze rolled on his back and gathered Duo in his arms, cuddling him close. Duo sighed and reached down to grab the spread at the bottom of the bed to cover them. He laid his head on Trieze's chest, nuzzling it a little and idly playing with his nipples. Trieze grabbed at his hand and pulled it away from what it was doing. He kissed Duo once more, tilting his head back and kissing him deeply, bruising his lips more. He broke the kiss regretfully, but threaded his fingers through that wonderful fall of hair and gently tilted Duo's head back, to look him in the eye.

"Not that I am complaining about this, but why did you sneak into my bedroom? We are enemies and someone as beautiful as you could have your pick of bed partners."

Duo grinned at him, but Treize sensed something beneath that grin that neither one of them wanted to examine right now.

"Heard you were lonely. So here I am."

Treize's eyes darkened at that excuse and he tightened his grip on Duo's hair. "That's not a very good reason," he said in a cold voice.

"TreizeÖ" Duo sighed. "Don't ask questions. I'm here. If you can't figure out on your own what's going on, you guys are going to lose with no help from us."

Treize bent down to take that mouth in his again, keeping his eyes open this time to watch Duo's expression. He was surprised that the boy leaned back into the kiss, apparently enjoying it, but his eyes were unreadable. In the moonlight that flooded the room, Trieze had the feeling that this was just a dream and Duo would vanish like the moonbeams that he seemed to be made out of.

"Can you stay for a little while?" Treize murmured as he traced Duo's throat with his tongue.

Duo moaned softly. "For a little while."

"Why?" Treize had to ask that question, not really wanting to know the answer.

"Treize what did I say about questionsÖ" Duo replied as he slipped down to curl against him.

"Last one, I promise." Treize answered as he gently stroked his back.

"Do you want a comforting lie or the truth?" Duo harshly asked.

"Both would be nice."

"The lieÖthis is an ancient fertility ritual to ensure a good harvest."

Treize chuckled at that one. He heard that the boy as a rule did not like to lie, so he at least gave him a line that no one would believe. Who knows it might be true for all he knew. Duo looked up and grinned back.

"The truth? Orders. ButÖTreize, I enjoyed it. I wouldn't have continued if I didn't. I just want to tell you that. And another thing, no one is worth letting your guard down that much. This is the third night that I've snuck in here. Your security sucks. And you've been drunk all three times. Face it. Zechs left you. He's a shit for doing so, but a lover and love isn't worth crying about. Love is one of the biggest lies that they sell you Treize and you just learned it." Duo's tone had gotten more serious as he talked and Treize mentally winced at the distrust and cynicism that was dripping from it as Duo said that last line.

"I'm sorry," was all that he could say.

Duo shrugged, "Life's hard. And I'm not the one that just got screwed over by my second."

"You got screwed by something to have that attitude. Besides by who ever told you to jump into my bed." Treize remarked softly. "And were you the good fairy that got me into bed one night? And left me water and aspirin another? "

"Life and the Federation, T-kun," Duo replied, idly stroking his chest. "And besides it was more of a stealth attack then a leap attack. And yes I did. Having experienced a few hangovers that made me want to die, I felt that leaving supplies to help would be a nice thing "

"T-kun?" Treize asked amusedly.

"Hasn't anyone ever called you that? Or were you born General Khushrendra?" Duo asked.

"I should be happy it's not T-chan then?"

"We don't know each other that well," Duo replied seriously.

"Then let us spend a little more time getting acquainted." Treize replied.

He rolled over and started to gently kiss Duo's throat, working his way down to his collarbone and nibbling at it. Duo moaned and kneaded Treize'sshoulders.

"Sh.." Treize soothed. "Don't do anything, just let me makeÖ"

"Don't say it!" Duo's voice was desperate and he tensed up underneath Treize.

Treize looked up. Duo's face was still smiling at him, but his eyes were blank. He wouldn't have believed the anguish in the tone that he heard from the boy, by looking at him. Duo was very good at this if he could control his reactions and expressions that well.

"I was going to say, let me have my own fertility ritual." Treize reassured him.

"That's different," Duo said, breaking into a wide grin and relaxing.

Treize noticed that it really didn't reach his eyes. He wondered how many other people had bought that false front that Duo presented to the world. Or if anyone really cared to look beneath the surface.

"But on the other hand," Duo teased him, "You got to be on top the last time. Lie back and let me do all the work. I promise I won't hurt you."

Treize chuckled at that one. He could probably beat the boy in hand to hand. And he didn't have a weapon, beside that gorgeous face and wicked, talented body. He laid back and rolled Duo on top of him. Duo would be a little more relaxed this way. As he had said earlier, he could always ask questions later.

"Work away." He purred as he started to kiss the boy. Duo returned them with enthusiasm, his hands running over Trieze's chest playing with his nipples and lightly tickling his ribs. Treize broke of the kiss and glared at Duo. He grinned back, unrepentant.

"I am a terrorist. I want to find out if you have any weak spots, like being ticklish." he drawled.

"And that information is going to help you how?" Trieze asked amusedly.

"It might be useful for the future. Now hush up and let me jump your bones." Duo replied, leaning over to lick Treize's ear.

He started to suck on his earlobe, listening to his moans. Duo felt Trieze start to harden against his thigh and shifted slightly when his body responded. Duo sat up and readjusted himself to sit on Treize's stomach area. He worked his way down Treize's neck to his shoulder, biting lightly, leaving a small trail of teeth marks. Treize squirmed underneath this attention and groaned. Duo smiled slightly and worked his way across his chest and to his other shoulder, enjoying the response that he was getting. Duo sat up a little and scooted down a little, to rub Treize's cock against his ass, arching a little at the feel. Treize reached up to brush Duo's bangs out of his eyes. Duo's tongue darted out to lick his palm and brush gently up his pinky finger. Treize moaned and then gasped as Duo started to suck on his fingers. The boy's talented tongue made his bones turn to water and he wondered who had taught him these tricks. Duo fumbled for the small jar of lubricant that was someplace on the bed. He found it and reached behind himself to apply a little to the tip of Treize's cock. He then gently lifted himself up and slid down Trieze's cock slowly. Treize moaned and grabbed Duo to steady his decent. He controlled the urge to slam again into that delicate form and managed to hold himself still until he felt himself bottom out in Duo.

A small hiss had escaped the boy, causing Treize to really look at Duo. Aside from that barely heard noise, there was no response from Duo. Treize reached up and brushed the hair from out of his eyes, wanting to see the expression in them. He was willing to go along with Duo popping into his bed for no apparent reason, but he wanted his partner to enjoy himself.

He really couldn't see Duo's expression, and after a second he didn't care. The moonlight had transformed him into something other then human, and Treize was enchanted. He could see why some people could still believe in fairies and elves. He thought that one had just crawled into his bed. And what he was doing with his muscles made him want to scream in pure pleasure. He held on to his sanity by a thread and tried to reason with Duo.

"You don't have to do this." Treize said quietly, stroking Duo's shaft and involuntarily thrusting in response to his movements.

"It's all right. I was going to be sore in the morning anyways." was his neutral reply.

"Damn it!!" Treize started and was silenced by Duo gently kissing him and licking his tongue across his lips.

"Hey, I know what I'm doing." Duo protested against his lips.

"But are you doing what you want?" Treize parried.

Duo didn't answer, but deepened his kiss, inserting his tongue in Treize's mouth to tease that older man. Small groans of pleasure were wrung from the both of them, as Duo continued to move. Trieze stiffened grabbed at Duo's hips to hold him still as he thrust into him violently , shuddering his release. Duo came again, splattering the two of them again as Treize's orgasm triggered his own. He collapsed bonelessly on top of Treize and listened to his breathing as the older man gradually fell asleep, slowly slipping out of Duo's body.

Duo smiled to himself. Treize was sleeping, exhausted after their second session. He didn't even move as Duo slipped out from underneath his arm and stood up. Duo was feeling a little weak kneed himself, but knew if he fellasleep and was found here in the morning he was screwed. In the cold light of day, Treize might be a little more hostile to his unexpected guest. He quickly got dressed, wishing that he could at least take as shower before he left. He was sticky and smelled like a very expensive toy. He gathered his hair into a loose ponytail and hoped that he would have to spend too much time trying to untangle the mess.

Duo stood still, listening to Treize's breathing to make sure that the older man was still asleep. His face perfectly blank, Duo reached into his pocket and took out a small syringe. Time to put Plan B into motion. Duo gently drew back the covers to expose Treize's feet. Checking to make sure that he was still asleep, Duo gently inserted the syringe between his toes and injected Treize with its contents. He put the syringe back into his pocket and flipped the covers back. He then gently tucked Treize under the covers, tensing once as the older man murmured and turned over. He started patting the bed looking for Duo and woke up slightly when he couldn't feel the boy. He lifted up his head and blurrily looked around the room, catching sight of Duo standing by the edge of the bed dressed.

"WhereÖ" he started.

Duo bent over and silenced him with a kiss. After a long leisurely exploration of each other's mouths, Duo drew back and laid a finger on Treize's lips.

"Breakfast would have been nice, and believe me, sleeping here with you would be a treat, but I can't." he whispered. "I might be back, might not. I had fun, you enjoyed yourself too. But if I get caught here, it would be bad. And the others are expecting to see me in the morning. I am willing to repeat this, but you know that there's this war thing going on and it does cramp my long range plans."

Treize started to gently suck on Duo's finger, watching him close his eyes in pleasure. "You know where to find me." he replied quietly.

"Mmm..." was Duo's comment. He then shook himself and gently withdrew his finger from Trieze's mouth. "Treize, find a nice boy, girl, dog or something; settle down, and stop drowning your sorrows with the booze. Gundam pilots aren't the only enemies that you have to worry about. Or the only enemy trying to hop into your bed."

"Romafeller foundation?" Treize asked amusedly. "Would they be thisÖforward?"

"Bingo! And I don't know, but watch out for it. You might turn out to be a hot property. You could have a line out the door soon" was Duo's reply. "Two weeks or so? Unless I get killed, of course. And I will stay the night, ifyou want."

Treize sat up and drew an unresisting Duo onto his lap. He stroked his hair and attempted to finger comb it a little. Duo let him, leaning against Treize and sighing a little. "Thanks."

"You don't have to come backÖ" Treize offered. #I don't care if you're having fun, you much too young to be pulling this whatever you want to call it.#

"T-kun, would you believe that I jumped at this?" Duo asked. "And if you continue to do that I will fall asleep. I gotta get back."

"And if I told you that I wasn't letting you go?" Treize's tone was amused, wondering how much he could push Duo, wrapping his arms around him.

"Don't push it T-kun." Duo threatened as he removed Trieze's arms from his waist after a minute of snuggling and got off his lap.

"Will you tell me the truth someday?" Treize asked, his eyes as cynical as Duo's as they stared into each other. They both had no illusions about what was going on. The truth was already known. Duo was here on orders, nothing more, nothing less.

"Someday. But you got all that I can tell you. I don't get told everything." Duo leaned down and gave Treize a gentle kiss on the check and then turned and ran to the balcony and disappeared into the night.

Duo slowly made his way back to Shinigami. He carefully disposed of the syringe that he had used on Treize. It continued a semi inert, untraceable poison. It would only activate, after the second part was injected into the subject.

Trieze would stay alive only as long as he was useful. His death now would cause an interesting power struggle. That it might have ended the war was predicted to have a fifty percent success rate. It wasn't good enough odds for the Mad Five. And another violent change in government would do more harm then good. Milking Treize for all the information that he could, controlling him with his charms and then killing him when the odds were more in their favor, was the plan that had been decided on by the Mad Five. The poison would make it look like a heart attack or another natural cause. He would not become a martyr for OZ to rally behind. They were having enough problems with the man alive. As a dead martyr he would be something that was impossible to stop.

And Duo would follow it. If it meant frequent visits to the general, well he was going to get laid fairly regularly then. The guy wasn't too bad in bed. And he had sounded concerned about him for a while. It was nice.

Duo shrugged. He just had to keep his activities secret from the other pilots. This wasn't something that he was going to explain to them. It wasn't hard, he had been spending more time alone, only showing up for meals and briefings. Bubbly and bright when he showed up, but just not around much. He started to sleep in Shinigami even, so he wouldn't listen to the others when they were in bed. He just had to notify G of his success and have him arrange a long distance assignment within the next two weeks, so he could continue to cultivate Treize.

Duo shifted in his seat and then laughed to himself. He had just the thing that would tickle the great man's fancy. He'd send him flowers. Duo was very willing to bet that no one had ever sent Khushrendra flowers. And may be it would help convince him that he did have a good time, so that he would let him continue this. Duo fiddled with some of the controls on Shinigami. He loved technology. He could call a florist halfway around the word to send flowers, routing his call through so many satellites that no one could trace his call. He'd put in an order for a dozen roses, two of each color and send them off to Trieze, with a thank you note. He was just sorry that he wouldn't be able to see his face when he got them.

 

INTERLUDE II

Treize looked up from his paperwork. It was the middle of the night and the only reason that he was still awake was on the hope that Duo actually would show up. He heard a sound from his bedroom and slowly went in, drawing his gun and checking to see what had made that sound.

He was pleasantly surprised to see Duo Maxwell, stretched out naked on his bed, hair loose and flowing. He had a flower stuck in his hair and all Treize could think of was that Duo had actually come back. The low light in the room cast odd shadows and Treize was struck again by the fact that Duo looked like a creature of Fey and he would be gone again in the morning. Even if he wasn't Fey, he would be gone in the morning Treize thought.

Duo smiled at Treize and moved to get off the bed.

"Don't move," Treize hoarsely commanded, starting to strip himself of his own clothes. He made his way over to his bed, leaving a trail of clothes behind him. He crawled onto the bed and bent down to gently kiss Duo on the lips.

"How long?" Treize asked, hating himself for that question. He was even wondering why he asked it. But he had enjoyed his time with Duo and wanted to spend more time with him, so he hoped that he would at least spend the night. Just so he could find why they ordered him into his bed.

Duo nuzzled his neck and gently sucked on it for a second before replying. "I am all yours until tomorrow night," he murmured back. "And you can do anything you want with me. I am yours to control."

Treize pulled back, disturbed by the phrasing of that statement. He searched Duo's eyes for a clue about what he meant. Duo's eyes stared back at him and he was threatening to drown Treize in their jeweled depths. They were both hopeful and cynical at the same time. Hopeful that Treize wouldn't take unfair advantage of the offer and cynical as if that he knew that he probably would.

"And if I told you to leave?" he questioned, stroking his hair gently, stalling for time, wanting to chase that look out of Duo's eyes. He was far too young to have it in his eyes. It was the look that he thought was in his eyes dealing with the Romafeller Foundation and the Federation. And he thought he was too young to look like that.

"Then I would. But I would come back if you wanted me to, if this isn't a good time." Duo stated. "It's free will thing. Enjoy me, T-kun. I felt bad about leaving. That was truly tacky. Like you were good enough to jump, but not to take to breakfast. I managed to arrange a little more free time so I' m yours for this night and the next day. We may be can get to the T-chan stage of this relationship."

Duo leaned over and traced Treize's jaw with his tongue, causing the older man to shiver. Treize forgot whatever misgivings he had as he leaned over and captured Duo's mouth with his own. He even forgot to wonder about his odd phrasing of time.

"Do you know Duo, I thought about all sorts of wonderful things that I want to do with you ...some even had to do with sex." Treize said as he laid down on the bed and took Duo in his arms, after kissing him for what seemed an endless moment.

"Duo?" Treize asked.

"Yes?" came the slightly breathless reply, Treize really was a good kisser.

"Did you send me flowers?" was the amused question.

"I told you I felt bad about leaving you. Flowers are sort of the nice thing to do I heard."

"Yes they are Duo, thank you. Why roses?"

"Well, this entire room smells like them. It's not bad or over powering, but I do feel like I'm in a rose garden. So I know you like roses, so I sent you some. And I didn't think that another flower would be able to compete. And I didn't ask if you liked chocolate or another type of candy. "

"What other flower were you thinking of?" Treize asked curiously. He knew that Duo had sent the flowers, he was just wondering if the boy would admit it. It was a thoughtful and romantic gesture, completely at odds with the fact that he was in bed with him on orders.

"Lilies, but most people don't like them. Lilacs too. All flowers really, flowers are a treat." Duo stopped his questions, by leaning over and continuing to kiss Treize. He really was a good kisser, should take advantage of the fact.

Treize chuckled after a while and broke off kissing him. Duo made a face at him and kissed him lightly on the nose." What's so funny?" he asked.

"You do have a nice way of stopping questions. I should thank you for those flowers, in the manner that most men want women to."

"Which is?" Duo asked innocently, already knowing the answer, but playing dumb. It was sex. That was what it came down to for most people. And Duo had earned his living long enough supplying that answer.

"Lie back and let me do some of those things that I was thinking of with you." Treize purred sensuously, causing Duo to shiver at the sound. Sober Treize sounded delightful and decadent. Their second encounter was shaping up to be better then the first. And Treize had been damn good then.

"Just don't leave any odd bruises that I might have to explain to my roomies. They do on occasion see me in my shorts, my privacy where we are is nonexistent." Duo joked, starting to get a little nervous.

He'd never had to deal with the S & M crowd on the street, but he'd seen some of the kids that did, which is why he stayed away from them. The customers usually didn't care about making sure that their victim wasn't too hurt afterwards. The ones that enjoyed it or didn't care about their own safety were dead sooner or later. And Duo didn't have the safety net of saying no anymore, because if it wasn't him it would be one of his friends and that was worse then getting hit yourself to him.

"So the main reason that you're here is to sleep in a bed?" Treize asked lightly, tracing Duo's ear with a finger.

"Mmm...a bed would be nice, usually get the sofa or worse lately. Outside school that is." Duo replied, squirming under the caress and then mentally kicked himself. He was not going to start talking about his sleeping or living arrangements with Treize.

Treize realized that Duo was angry with himself for letting that tidbit of information slide out.

"Lie back," he murmured to Duo. "Just let me do all the work tonight. You said I was in control. You can return the favor at a later date."

He slipped Duo onto the bed and leaned over to open the drawer on his nightstand. He grabbed a small jar from it and placed it in Duo's hand.

"Hold that." he ordered. "Get comfortable, because you're not going to be able to move after that."

Duo wiggled into a more comfortable position, gathering his hair up and spreading it out behind him. "How are going to make me not move?" he asked cautiously. #Please do not weird out on me...I was hoping so that you were actually nice and it wasn't an act#

"I'm relying on your self control. All I ask is that you don't touch me back." Treize stated, stroking Duo's face. "Nothing kinky or hurtful if that was what you're worried about."

"No, just wondering. And I've been told that I have no self control according to some people that know me." Duo joked back. #Thank you God. At least this didn't turn out to be bad too. Even if its one of those things you supposedly frown at.#

Treize was happy to see that he had relaxed and that wary look in his eyes was gone. They had lit up in relief and lustful anticipation when Treize mentioned self control.

"You touch me, unless I ask you to and I will stop whatever I am doing, not matter how good it feels to you."

"Control away then" Duo said in an amused tone. This would be fun. Okay, more then fun. Mindblowing and sensual were just two adjectives that came to mind before Treize started.

Treize leaned over and returned to the pleasure of kissing Duo. He spent endless moments nibbling on his lips before plunging his tongue into his mouth. Duo kissed back and spent time sucking gently on Treize's tongue. Treize's hands hadn't been idle. He was gently stoking Duo's chest and ribs, playing with his nipples and enjoying the low voiced "ahs" that he was getting from him Gradually his hands were replaced by his lips as he slowly worked his way down Duo's body. After a few minutes on Treize's attention, Duo was writhing mindlessly, clenching his hands in to fists so that he wouldn't touch Treize.

He started clawing at the bed, not caring about the damage he might be doing to the covers. He was nearly screaming with frustration when Treize ignored his erection and continued down his thighs. When he got to Duo's toes, he couldn't resist stopping and looking up at Duo. He looked so needy, so wanton writhing with desire, that Treize decided that he would stop torturing the boy and give him some relief.

"Spread your legs," he ordered harshly, surprised at the speed that Duo complied with his order. Treize slowly crawled up the bed and then started to lick Duo's balls. Duo choked out a scream, afraid to make too much noise and thrust blindly into the air. Treize grabbed at Duo to keep him still and then slowly licked the underside of his cock. Duo let out the oddest noise, which caused Treize to look up. He was disturbed to see that Duo was biting his lip so hard that it was bleeding.

Treize reached up to stroke, Duo's face, hoping that would relax him. "sh...no one's going to hear you. You can make noise."

"I'm okay..." Duo protested, anything else he was going to say cut off by the fingers that Treize placed in his mouth. Duo started sucking on them, not caring about anything else.

Treize returned his attention to Duo's erection, swirling the tip around in his mouth before taking it into mouth and swallowing it down to the root. Duo arched his back and tried to thrust deeper into Treize. Treize fumbled for the lubricant, surprised that Duo had enough awareness to let go of the jar when he wanted it. Treize dipped his finger in the jar and gently probed Duo's opening to stretch him. He slowly played with him until he thought he was ready. He felt bad about hurting him last time, even though Duo claimed it was all right. He did not enjoy hurting a lover for any reason. He lubricated his own shaft and lifted Duo off the bed, leaning back until was sitting on his heels. Treize turned Duo over and placed him on his hands and knees.

"This might be a little more comfortable then last time," he whispered. "I want you to enjoy yourself."

"Mnn...I did enjoy myself," Duo protested. "It's not like you can fake that..."

He stopped talking when Treize slowly slid into him by inches, stopping only when he was engulfed entirely by Duo's body. He fought the urge to move for a few moments, letting Duo become used to the feel him inside. Duo moaned and wiggled back, signaling that he was ready. Treize started to thrust slowly, gradually building up speed until he was thrusting into Duo relentlessly.

He used his hands to steady himself on Duo, wandering down to caress his cock only when he got his rhythm established. After all the time that he had spent playing with Duo, he came fast, screaming incoherently. Treize responded to the mindless pleasure that Duo was showing and gave one last hard thrust, filling Duo with his seed. He felt rather then saw, Duo collapse beneath him and curl up in a ball. Treize decided that was a good idea and fell beside Duo, grabbing him and curling up around him. Neither one said anything.

Treize reached down and pulled the covers around the two of them. Duo was already asleep and didn't make a sound when Treize tucked him in. He spent time just staring at Duo, wondering at how such a beautiful child had gotten involved in such an ugly war. And what had been done to him to make him as cynical as he was. But kind, he would have never thought that Duo had sent flowers to him as an apology for leaving him just afterwards, so he wouldn't feel bad. That showed him that Duo, for all his protests that the mysterious thing called loved sucked, did hope love wasn't the myth that he thought it was.

Not that he would ever find out who Duo was from his sources. Duo Maxwell seemed to only come into existence when he started piloting his Gundam. No information was available on the boy that Oz could find out. And yet he was trusting enough to fall asleep immediately in the bed of the enemy general. It was a miracle that he had stayed awake long enough last time to sneak off.

Treize debated about getting up and turning off the lights in the other room. He really didn't want to move and had the sneaking suspicion that if he left the room now that Duo would disappear into the night, no matter what the boy had promised earlier. His last encounter with him felt like it had been a dream. The only trace that Treize had that it had been real was a few strands of long chestnut hair in his bed.

Treize mentally shrugged. Leaving the lights on all night wasn't going to hurt anyone. He just wanted to sleep in bed with someone tonight, hold another person close and pretend that the world wasn't going to intrude. He hoped that he would be tired enough not to dream. He hated his dreams. He gathered the sleeping Duo in his arms, happy that the boy woke up enough to nuzzle him and give him a sleepy kiss and a murmured "thanks" before they both fell asleep.

Duo woke up with a start the next morning. #Okay,# he thought sleepily, #warm, soft bed and someone in it with me...shit I fell asleep! Wait, I could...# he stopped thinking when he felt Treize's lips on the back of his neck, lightly nibbling at his spine.

"Good morning," Treize purred at him. "I was wondering if you really didn't exist and were just a wet dream that I kept having. But here you are in the morning light and what would you like for breakfast?"

Duo turned over and wiggled until his lips were in range of Treize's. He started to kiss the other man slowly and leisurely, lazily probing his mouth with his tongue. They stayed that way for a while, until the need for air stopped Duo's explorations.

"Doesn't matter." He muttered and returned to what he was doing, reaching down to gently stoke Treize as he responded to Duo's attentions.

Treize grabbed his hand and stilled the gentle strokes that it was starting. "Stop distracting me" he gently ordered, breaking off the kiss.

"Why? May be I want you for breakfast, T-chan." Duo challenged, grinning at him.

"And may be I want to see you and not the sex kitten that they ordered into my bed?" Treize asked harshly.

"There is no me Treize, just a series of masks that the world wants to see..." Duo's words were bitter, but the tone was oddly wistful like a child describing Santa Claus.

"What happened to you?" Treize asked sadly.

"Treize, T-chan. I'm a pawn. I go where they move me and if I get across the board, it still don't mean that I get to be something else besides a pawn." Duo smiled crookedly at him, his eyes dark "I'm listed under expendable equipment."

"And after the war?" Treize gently stroked Duo's hair, as Duo laid his head on the other's chest. #God what had they done to this boy to make him feel that he was expendable?# Treize thought, #It was probably that attitude that allowed his superiors to order him into my bed.#

"Don't think that far ahead. Odds are I'm going to be dead, so who cares? I think it's some really sick and sadistic streak that makes me still try in school." Duo found it easier to talk in this position, he could hide his eyes and not have to fight to not give anything away that way.

"May be if I survive I can find out who I was supposed to be..." He whispered wistfully to himself.

"Well, since you're into not thinking, I'm going to call in well and spend the day with you. How does champagne and strawberries sound for breakfast?" Treize asked.

"Sounds decadent and hedonistic."

"And that is bad how? I do have a reputation to maintain." Treize purred. He got out of bed and padded into his office. Duo heard him talking on the phone for a second and then walking around for a few minutes.

"I didn't get around to shutting off the lights last night." He called from the other room, gathering up what he was looking for.

Treize smiled. Champagne would work well on Duo. Getting him a little tipsy might give him a few more clues about who he was sharing his bed with. And the all important question of why. Besides the obvious one of orders. Why him, not one of the others?

Wufei seemed like a better choice, he did have that odd habit of showing up and trying to kill him. It would be more believable that the passion for fighting would translate into passion for each other. Duo just showing up out of the blue didn't. None off them falling into his bed would make any sense, so why order it? Treize was getting very confused trying to double and triple think this situation to see if he could come up with an answer that would make any sense. Unless that was the reason that Duo was in bed with him. To confuse him? That made a certain amount of odd logic. But still why send any of them into his bed?

Yes he was lonely and hurting because Miri had left him, as rough as it had gotten, he loved him. But it hadn't been common knowledge that they were involved that way. So who knew that he had left him and was in need of companionship? Duo appearing was a delicious mystery that he was going to get to the bottom of. If only to figure out who Duo Maxwell was, even if he wasn't sleeping with him. He had enough information on the others to figure out who they were and their fighting styles, but Duo had just popped up one day and started slaughtering soldiers. And then disappeared back to wherever he came from. Sort of like their first night together, must be a habit with him. A moving target wouldn't get hit theory? A trademark? He wasn't going to analyze it anymore. Just see what happened with Duo.

He grabbed a couple of glasses, the bottle and a bowl full of strawberries from the kitchen on the other side of his office. He had hoped that Duo would have shown up again and had laid in supplies for the occasion.

"You're not going to rat on me to the authorities that I am serving a minor alcohol?" Treize asked with a smile.

Duo laughed and sat up in bed. He could not believe that Treize even knew the word rat in that context.

"I promise." he stated solemnly, getting out of bed to grab the glasses from Treize. "Just don't turn me in for cutting classes today."

"I could give you a note, just tell me where to send it..." Treize offered, opening the bottle with a well mannered hiss and pouring it into the glasses that Duo was holding. Duo handed one to Treize and sat back down on the bed.

"Uh-huh, like I'm going to tell you. Doesn't matter, we're moving on in a few days." Duo replied. "And besides if you wrote the truth, I'd be in more trouble."

Treize frowned and tried a different tactic. One that he knew would get some reaction out of Duo. He sighed melodramatically and gave Duo huge puppy eyes, "I guess I'll just have to ask Relena..."

Duo stared at him for a minute and then burst into giggles. He started laughing and sat down. Puppy eyes! Out of the limelight Treize was a very fun and likable guy. Not many would have pulled that trick.

"Thanks T-chan. I needed that. Relena is one of the reasons that we're moving. And I'm glad that you aren't taking it badly that I'm not telling you where we are."

"Relena that bad?" Treize asked, glad to see Duo laugh.

"I don't know, really. It's just annoying that she shows up with her entourage and then thinks that Heero is going to drop everything and follow her around like one of her fan club. And ignores the rest of us. She has no idea what is going on, but has a really good network .You guys should just follow her around if you're trying to find us."

"A toast then" Treize proposed, "To clueless blondes, may they be stepped on by something nasty."

"Where did that come from T-chan?" Duo asked curiously. "Still pining for Zechs?"

Treize stopped for a moment. He did miss Mirialdo and it hurt that the other had walked out on him, but he wasn't bitter. A little relieved maybe. If Miri had continued the relationship, they would have gotten into more problems with their differing philosophies on the war. And he wouldn't have met Duo. And Duo could turn out to be something nice. But the last act in their little drama proved to be damaging. The bruises that Mirialdo had given him had faded, but the memories wouldn't for a long time.

"Not really. It was best that we ended it." Treize said, #Before we killed each other,# "It was just that he walked out on me and I guess I didn't like that." #But I was relieved because something had happened.#

"Mmm" Duo said, sipping his champagne. Not bad, but he would stop after one glass. He hadn't anything to eat in awhile and while the strawberries were nice and tasty, they wouldn't absorb the alcohol. "Can I be frank?"

"Yes" Treize wondered what he was going to say. Treize didn't know Duo well enough to predict what he was going to come out with. And no matter how long they were together he doubted that he would ever be able to do that.

"You like being in charge. You're a little bit of a control freak at times. Zechs is also with some of the stupid stunts that he pulled."

"True enough" Treize thought of some of the truly stupid things that the two of them had done in their careers. And the fights that they had in bed about who was in charge. It had started to get a tad tiresome at times, but the making up seemed worth it.

Treize didn't know, but it was a pleasant change to wake up after a night of lovemaking without feeling that he had been through a battle. Duo didn't seem to have that desire. Or if he did, he wasn't showing it. He was very willing to let Treize be the top, even when Duo said that he was in charge their first night.

"So you're not mad that it ended, just that he ended it. You still miss him a little, ëcause you were close for a long time. But it ended before it got messy, which is not a bad thing."

"And how did you learn all this?" Treize asked curiously. Not messy, my sweet, before it got too messy. It was getting abusive as Miri was concentrating more on his revenge then anything else, including relationships. Noin had a few odd bruises once in a while too. And Miri thought that I didn't know about the two of them.

"Experience. I'm usually the one that people go to when they want to cry and bitch about past relations." Duo replied. His eyes were blank for a moment and then he focused them back on Treize.

"Enough about that. How about you get sloshed and see where it goes from there?" he smiled brightly at Treize and did his own version of puppy eyes on him.

Treize laughed and kissed him, glad to drop the topic. He could always ask Duo later about things. One of the ancients did say that there was truth in wine. And he was going to pour a lot into Duo this morning.

"What do you mean about you getting sloshed?" he asked curiously. Had Duo read his mind? "You don't drink to excess?"

"Bad drunk," Duo admitted blushing. "I can hold it most of the times, but I haven't had champagne before and I don't think you want to spend the day with me freaking out if I can't."

"It might be informative..." Treize teased him.

Duo looked at him with eyes that had gone hard and flat, all that laugher off his face like someone had thrown a switch.

"You don't want to hear it and I don't want to tell you, so it's not happening. I'd rather risk getting caught sneaking out of here right now, ëkay." The tone was final and Treize flushed a little. He should have known not to tease someone that covered their tracks so well.

"I would like to know who's sharing my bed." Treize stated quietly.

It was Duo's turn to be flustered. He had really blown it. Next line would be Treize kicking him out and then the Docs would be sending someone else on his place. Someone a lot more innocent and with a lot more to lose then he did. He had to fix this one fast, but he wasn't going to be telling Treize his life history if he could avoid it.

"Sorry, T-chan, sore subject. Just enjoy me, can you do that?" Duo asked, his eyes wary, wondering how much he had blown it.

Treize was disturbed at the guarded eyes that were looking back at him. Duo was afraid of something and it wasn't his past. Did he think that he would be thrown into prison for snapping at him? Or was it something else?

The odd thing was that he did trust Duo. And Duo trusted him enough to fall asleep in his bed and not worry about waking up in an interrogation room. Treize had thought that had been the reason that he had not stayed the first night, not the claim that he had to leave to get back to his fellow pilots. Duo was still here in the morning, so that wasn't the reason that he had run off. It might have been just a simple case of nerves. But why was he nervous now?

"I guess that means you're drinking juice this morning after that glass." Treize sighed. "You're already a lovely color from the alcohol. A nice rosy complexion. I did want to see you glow from alcohol."

Duo sighed in relief and smiled. "Thanks for not getting pissy about it," leaning over to give the man a kiss. "But the no questions rule is a good one. I don't want to lie to you."

"Pissy?" Treize asked bemusedly. "Is that even a word?"

"I thought I was a second away from getting my walking papers." Duo admitted nervously.

"Because you don't want to be that out of control around me?" Treize asked lazily, studying Duo with an alert gaze that did not match his tone. What the hell was he afraid of?

"Around anyone," Duo replied firmly. "I trust you, about this liaisonish thingie we're having, but I don't want to be that out of control at anytime."

"Fair enough," he agreed. "You wouldn't have survived this long if you were careless."

"Thanks for understanding, a lot of people wouldn't have," Duo said softly, leaning over to place a kiss on his stomach. He tilted his head up to meet Treize's gaze. "Let's just make the most of the rest of the day. No thinking. I have to leave when it gets dark though."

"I understand. Are you going to be able to get out unnoticed?"

"Hate to disappoint you, your security still sucks. I could wander through here with a brass band and half the guards would ignore it. It's not that they're careless, it's just that they don't think that anything could happen to them. Or have it happen here."

"Ah, yes my sweet, the innocence of youth." Treize chuckled.

#But Treize the sad part is that I would kill for that innocence. I never had it.# Duo thought to himself before capturing the other man's mouth with his own.

Treize returned the kiss feverently, astonished by the passion that Duo was showing. He was serious about the not thinking. But not yet, while Duo was an incredible temptation, he did want to know something about him. A casual relationship was something that he had never had before. It bothered him that he didn't know anything about the boy that was sharing his bed.

Sex he could buy any place. And had on occasion. Affection was something that he knew very little about and that gesture with the roses had struck some nerve in his soul. No one had ever given him flowers before. And Duo had done it so that he wouldn't be offended about him sneaking off into the night, after the boy admitted that he was only in his bed because of orders. He'd ask his questions and then let Duo make him forget, like the boy was trying to do. He broke of the kiss and settled back on the bed.

"I should make you pay for not letting me get you drunk. How about you answer three questions, nothing business related and then I let you have your wicked way with me."

"What kind of questions?" Duo asked warily. Treize was sorry to see the shadows in his eyes again.

"Deep questions Duo, such earth shattering intelligence, as...." Treize paused for a dramatic second, "What is you favorite color?"

Duo laughed, relieved that T-chan hadn't been angry that he really didn't trust him. "Black"

"Mmm...something deeper now, what is your favorite food?"

"That's harder, T-chan, I like food. If it isn't moving fast enough I will eat it." Duo said, draping himself across Treize's chest, resting his chin on his folder hands so that he could look the other man in the eye.

"Even Brussels Sprouts and broccoli?" Treize asked.

"Not as much as chocolate and pancakes, but they're food. Food is very nice." Duo replied, remembering times that he hadn't enough to eat. And some of the things that he had to do to feed himself or one of the gang. Treize stroked his bangs back gently, sorry that he had disturbed Duo. He hadn't said anything or changed his expression, but Treize suddenly knew that his last question hadn't been a good one.

"Hey T-chan, you got one more you know. Not holding the last one to your limit." Duo said when Treize continued to stroke his hair. It felt good and could feel his eyes dropping. "Like you said, you're gathering info. And if you continue to play with my hair, I will fall asleep on you."

"You said that our first night too. I think that you just one big kitty, going mindless if stroked the right way." Treize teased.

"Could be, showed you enough of that last night" Duo sleepily agreed.

Treize chuckled. Mindless could cover last night. "Get some sleep. Nothing says that we have to be active the entire time you're here. The champagne on a mostly empty stomach isn't helping either."

"See why I don't drink that much. Just give me five minutes and I'll be perky again." Duo promised.

"And when you're perky what are we going to do?"

"Back rub," Duo answered, "And see where it goes from there."

"If I'm getting a back rub, I don't think I'll let you sleep," Treize threatened.

"Then wake me up," challenged Duo. #Didn't think that the great general was the touchie-feelie kind. Or willing to let me get my hands that close to his neck. Shit what is he doing now? Tickling me?!# he thought before starting to tickle back.

Treize started tickling Duo, lightly running his hands up and down his sides. Duo writhed, laughed and tickled back, trying to get the other man to laugh and succeeding, but Duo knew he was on the losing end of the battle. After a while Duo rolled off Treize gasping for breath.

"I give...I give." he gasped out. "I'm awake. You get your backrub. Just let me nab my stuff from my pack."

"Stuff?" Treize asked, raising an eyebrow.

"My oil. Not that I don't like the smell of roses, but if I come back really smelling like one, instead of sorta smelling like one, they're going to figure out something is going on and I will be in deep manure. So let me use my stuff. I stole it from one of the better shops around." Duo said smiling winningly, batting his eyes at Treize.

"I hadn't thought of that..." Treize said eyeing Duo with new respect. #I knew there was a brain under all that hair, he's a Gundam pilot, but I didn't think that he'd show me it#

"Young doesn't mean dumb." Duo replied. "Protective coloring is how I survive. Roll over on your stomach please."

Duo rolled off the bed and rummaged through his pack, which he had stowed in back of a bureau, beneath his neatly folded clothes. Treize stretched out and made himself more comfortable, sprawling in the middle of the bed. He grabbed a couple of the pillows that had been shoved at the top of the bed, to put his head on, and was surprised to feel a hard lump underneath one. He drew it out and frowned when he realized that it was a gun and not his.

"Duo, my sweet," he purred "why is there a gun underneath my pillows."

" ëCause I put it there, I have a habit of doing so and I absentmindedly shoved it under there when I was getting ready to jump you." was his embarrassed answer.

"Oh, I don't mind, just wondering." Treize replied. #Teenagers should be stuffing dirty manga under their pillows not guns.# he thought, #but then he 's far too young in age to be sleeping with me too.#

"Relax, T-chan and just melt into the covers. I want you to relax. You seem tense, even though you're trying to hide it. Sorry about the gun, it's not that I don't trust you, it's just a gun is a security measure for me. I sleep with one ëcause I don't know who's going to come through the door, window or ceiling."

Duo explained as he tried to rub away the tenseness from Treize's shoulders and back. He slowly worked his way down humming softly, listening to the appreciative moans that Treize made until he came down to the dimple in his spine. He placed a small kiss there and reversed his facing, lifting up Treize's left foot and starting to rub it.

"Keep doing that and I'll tell you the plans for the domination of the colonies" he purred.

"Neat T-chan, I'll keep that in mind, but I'm interested in more important things," Duo replied as he moved his way up his leg, kneading and stretching it.

"What?"

Duo smiled, T-chan sounded like he was almost asleep. Duo'd bet that he would just flow off the bed if pushed, he was so relaxed, which was good, he needed to relax and stop plotting for a while. Duo swore he'd seen the gears grinding, trying to figure out what Duo was after exactly, when he'd made his offer last night. Did everybody lie to him? "What's your favorite color?"

"Ahh, that feels heavenly, why are you doing this?"

"It's an interrogation, silly. You guys would get a lot more out of people if you were nice to them and didn't hit them with rubber hoses and stuff." Duo replied, starting to work on Treize's other leg. "Spill the info or I' ll tickle you! Favorite color?"

"Blue and my favorite food is, ahh that felt good, Chicken Kiev."

"Hey, no getting ahead in questioning!" Duo complained. "For that you get a tough one. Who's your favorite composer?"

"Mmm...that is hard. Tchaikovsky for ballet, Wagner for Opera and Vivaldi for the symphony."

"I like Swan Lake, but will listen to most anything classical" Duo said. T-chan was trying to get to know him and was putting up with his rules, he should at least tell him something. "Can't stand Opera. Don't tell anyone, but I like Gilbert and Sullivan. Most everyone thinks I'm listening to something like heavy metal or rock and roll when I have my head phones on."

"Your secret is safe with me." Treize groaned as Duo finished off his right leg. ëGilbert and Sullivan? Swan Lake? Someone somewhere must have been nice enough to give Duo some exposure to the arts." He wondered in Duo would ever tell him who it was.

He was lost in his musings so that he didn't notice that Duo has switched positions again and was rubbing his lower back and starting down to his buttocks. He was gently kneading them when he slipped a couple of fingers down the clef there to tease him. Treize jolted to awareness and grabbed Duo 's wrist hard and pulled it up, while flipping on his back to face him.

Duo was startled by the reaction. T-chan had almost been asleep, then he was suddenly sitting up and almost breaking his wrist. Duo didn't realize that the man could move that fast. He looked up to apologize when T-chan let go of his wrist suddenly and swallowed hard. Duo noted that for a second there was something in his eyes, then it was gone.

"It got messy." Duo said quietly, looking him straight in the eyes.

"Yes." #God was it that transparent?# Treize thought. #Or can Duo read me better then anyone I know?#

"That shit!" Treize was surprised to hear the fury in Duo's voice. "It's bad enough when it's a total stranger, but you loved him. You trusted him! And he did that to you."

"I'm surprised you care, not many people would. Most of your compatriots would say it was a taste of what I'm doing to the colonies." Treize said quietly. He was surprised when Duo leaned forward and wrapped his arms around him in a hard hug.

"Not everyone. I think that it had happened to couple of us at one point or another from the vibes I got off of them. With me, on the streets unless you can defend yourself or get protection, you're fair game. Fed soldiers think that a pretty face is a reward for their job, whether the face is interested or not. No one deserves that." Duo whispered into T-chan's chest.

"You?" Treize asked quietly. #No wonder he's so cynical at times. Life hasn' t been very good to him. And this isn't helping him any. But he still manages to be cheerful and nice about it. He's treating me like a friend or someone he wants to get to know. Not the enemy General or an unpleasant assignment.#

"Long hair equals play toy, didn't you know? And No isn't in a lot of Fed's vocabulary." Duo answered in an amused, rueful tone. "I got over it after the first couple of times. After a while, it was the least of my worries. And I have other memories that help keep them in the back of my mind. But you trusted Zechs and he betrayed that trust you had in him! That's what's worse."

Duo looked up and tilted T-chan's head down, so that he could kiss him. He gently nibbled on the other man's lips for a while, then broke contact when both of them threatened to get a crick in their neck.

"I wasn't going to do anything more then tease you. I have no ambition to pull a coupe and try to be the top. Believe it or not, I like being the bottom. Switching would be nice once in awhile, but I don't have an overwhelming urge. I just wanted to show you what you were missing" Duo grinned at him. "You haven't really been the bottom in your relationships have you?"

"Duo..." Treize looked down at him. "Not really. I haven't slept around much, with either sex. I wasn't that interested. It seemed, worthless, becausemost of the time, someone was just doing it to get ahead or get something out of me. Zechs and I fought a lot about control and I usually won. So no. Just the last few instances where he got abusive and I didn't enjoy it."

ëThat's why you were mad the first night when you thought that I was hurting myself?" Duo asked softly.

"Yes, Duo. I don't like hurting people."

"But you do. This crazy war hurts everyone." Duo mournfully said, hugging T-chan again. "You didn't start it, but... you're in charge of it!"

"I know. And I hate the killing as much as you do. And I don't have to wade through it, like you do. But it haunts me. I give the orders that usually have them ending up dead."

They were silent for a moment, T-chan's arms going around Duo tightly.

"It doesn't really hurt," Duo said, going back to the original topic. "Just like stretched muscles after a game. You know that you've been doing something and are a little sore, but it's not bad. And I hadn't been with anyone for a while, so don't feel guilty."

"Thank you for the information. I was serious when I said that I wasn't really experienced. It just takes the first time that someone sleeps with you for a favor or your physics homework to realize that a sexual relationship isn't worth it a times."

"Mmm" Duo pretended to think deeply, "Physics homework? I'd sleep with you for that. I hate physics. I can figure out enough to get by, but I don't bust my chops over it. That's for the guys that actually like to study."

"So it wasn't that much of a sacrifice to have you skip school?" Treize asked, getting into the mood. Duo was trying to cheer him up after they had gotten on the very dangerous subject of the war.

"School is nice, food isn't bad at most of them, but it's kinda worthless to me in some ways. I'm not going to go on to college and I can fiddle with my grades, so why try in the areas that I'm no good in, like history or biology. If I do badly, the grades get fixed when I hit the next school." Duo replied.

"So what do you like to study?" Treize asked.

"Literature, figure out the whys and motivations in people are fun and Anatomy." Duo said, a mischievous gleam in his eyes.

"Anatomy?"

"You know, how the body works." Duo said, reaching down to run a hand down his back. "Do you want me to show you where all the bones in your body are?"

"That would be interesting. Where do you want to start?" Treize said, surrendering to Duo's teasing.

He stopped thinking coherently after a while. Duo had started with his vertebrae and worked his way down and across his body, licking and naming every bone that he could reach. Treize nearly jackknifed off the bed when he got to his feet and sucked the spots were the bones were. He calmed down when Duo worked his way up his body, only to nearly lose it when he was working on his hands. He was so responsive, that when Duo worked his way down his chest to his erection that after a few moments he came, filling Duo 's mouth with his seed. Duo cuddled up to fall back to sleep with him, as he tried to think coherently after a few minutes.

"Duo?" he asked sleepily, wrapping his arms around Duo. "What about you?"

"What about me?" he asked, kissing Treize on the mouth. Treize felt Duo's erection pressing lightly against him.

"I should return the favor," he said, yawning a little. Duo chuckled and licked his ear.

"Later, you're about to fall asleep. I'm not goin' anyplace for the rest of the day. Just because I didn't make a mess on the bed, doesn't mean I wasn't enjoying myself."

Treize opened his eyes and blinked at Duo. He didn't sound upset. More amused then anything. The last sight he saw before he fell asleep was of a pair of violet eyes looking at him thoughtfully before he fell asleep.

Duo stretched and snuggled back into T-chan's embrace. Treize then switched positions on him and Duo ended up with T-chan's head on his chest and stroking his back. T-chan was asleep and Duo laid there, enjoying the feel of him.

#You could do worse, he's kind, thoughtful and very willing to put up with the no questions policy. It could be worse. He could but into hurting his partner or some nasty dominance games. And he's treating you like a person and not a fuck toy. This might not be as bad as you thought.# Duo mused, listening to T-chan sleep.

He started whimpering a little, but calmed down when Duo started to rub his back and hum a lullaby to him. #And he's got a few problems of his own. Nightmares are a problem with him too. I wonder what causes them? Not the same demons that whisper to you in the night. After a while you might be able to tell each other that the monsters aren't real. And know that line for the lie that it is.# Duo had dozed off himself, and thought he was dreaming that there was someone in the other room. It took him a few minutes to realize it wasn't a dream.

#Please do not come in here!# he prayed. He knew that he couldn't dive out off the bed in time, not without making a lot of noise. With any luck, they would drop off or pick up whatever they came in for and leave. Duo held his breath and swore silently to himself when the footsteps came closer to bedroom. He started to feel underneath the pillow for his gun when the door opened. He drew it out and aimed at the person walking through the door.

"Treize-sama?" Lady Une called out, opening the door to the bedroom. "I know you didn't want to be disturbed but I have some papers that you have to sign."

She froze at the sight of Duo pointing a gun at her. She then took in the scene in front of her. The champagne, the mussed bed and Treize sleeping on the person pointing the gun at her. She blinked in shock and then realized that it was the pilot of 02, Duo Maxwell that was in bed with him. She opened her mouth to wake up Treize-sama when the pilot shoved his gun underneath the pillow and put his finger to his lips. He made shooing gestures at her as she just stared at him. Une couldn't figure out whether this was worse then finding Treize in bed with Zechs or not.

Duo leaned over and kissed T-chan on the back of the head. "I have ta get up. Be back in a little while, 'kay?"

T-chan murmured and turned over allowing Duo to slip out of bed to grab his pants. He was thankful that she hadn't started shooting or screaming at him. Treize lying all over him like that had provided the perfect shield. Duo put on his pants and tried to gather what little dignity he could out of this situation. Her picture perfect uniform vs. the fact that he looked and smelled like T-chan and he had been spending the night and part of the morning rolling around in bed, which they had been doing.

He escorted her into the kitchen, where he hoped that they could talk without waking T-chan up. Duo smiled to himself, he was very willing to wager that T-chan would not like the fact that his aide-de-camp and his bed warmer were plotting in the kitchen about his future. Lady Une could either make or break this assignment for him. They got into the kitchen and Duo hopped up to sit on the counter, so that they could sort of be at eye level. He could hardly wait until he had a growth spurt, he was tired of everyone being taller then he was.

"Why shouldn't I shoot you?" Une inquired coldly. Duo could almost see the icicles punctuating every word. Man, she was royally pissed. Duo grinned at her and shook his head.

"'Cause if himself didn't want me in there I wouldn't have been sleeping with him?" he cheerfully informed her. "He knows who I am and why I'm with him and he don't mind, so getting yourself in a twist ain't gonna stop it."

"I take it this isn't the first time?" Une asked, still doing a very good impression of the Frost Queen. Duo could tell she was major peeved if she hadn't started to melt by now. Not that he blamed her. Sleeping with the enemy was a no-no. Being the enemy sleeping with the guy she wanted was even worse for him.

"I wandered in here about two weeks ago, that was the first time ." Duo told her. "I didn't stay the night, though. I told him why I was here and he went along with. It's just a physical thing, Lady Une, no questions, no strings."

"Ah" she said, "I wondered why he had stopped trying to drink himself to sleep. I should thank you for that, it was starting to affect him."

"Lady Une," Duo started trying to turn on the charm, but he really didn't think that it would work. "I'm here on orders. He knows that. But if you get difficult about this, I just want to tell you that there are more Gundam pilots then me and you might get to meet all of them under these happy circumstances if you kick me out. I really don't want that to happen, not because I give a damn about your feelings, but the others don't know I'm here. And I don't want them to find out that those bastards are willing to throw them to Treize like a party treat to keep him happy, just so Romafeller can't get someone into his bed. He doesn't know that fact either and I hope that you won't tell him. So you have three choices. Put up with me. Put up with another pilot playing around with T-chan, and there will be another one, I believe my contacts when they said that. Worry about who Romafeller is going to send in here. You get to decide, but I hopin' for the first choice."

He finished his little speech with a sigh and sat back, feeling very little, grubby and very out of place. Une was staring at him, calculating something. Duo continued to feel small, but covered it by hopping off the counter and heading for the refrigerator, he might as well get a snack while she was making up her mind.

"How do I know that you won't hurt him?" Une asked. #T-chan? One of the most powerful men in the world and he's treating him like a school chum. Treize-sama might need that right now. And that little scene that I walked in on. I think that Duo might be willing to protect Treize-sama if he needs that. This might be very good for him. And I don't think that I could deal with one of the others this way, not from the information that we have on them. This boy is really a very old and cynical man. I don't think that he had ever been a child. I couldn't say that about any of the others.#

Duo sighed to himself in relief. She was at least willing to deal. There was some hope. "I won't go out of my way to hurt him emotionally, but you know that I might kill him someday. Orders you know. He knows those orders too. I'm hopin' that it won't come to that, but they were very clear about their objectives when they sent me in here." Duo said, looking for something to drink in the refrigerator. Not much, but he snagged a can of tonic.

"Wanna split it?" he asked, "There's some champagne left too if you want some of that. I can get it out of the bedroom."

"No thank you" Une politely told him. #He's honest, that's a plus. And thoughtful, which is surprising.#

She was troubled that the rebels would be willing to send a child in here to do what he was doing. They were more ruthless then she was and it was objectionable to her on some level. And not because they were doing it to her Treize-sama. She had no illusions about herself. She was very willing to kill, maim, threaten to make sure that Treize-sama's dream come true, but the opposition seemed to have less scruples then she did. And she didn't have that many. To send a pilot in here to keep him entertained and enthralled...that was lower then she was willing to go.

"He's fragile." Une said softly, giving in to the inevitable. Treize-sama wasn't objecting, so she really couldn't. Aside from the whole plot, which was the problem in her mind. Duo was just a boy! He should be dating someone his own age, not sleeping with a man nine years his senior. "Mirialdo leaving him hurt. I never liked the man, but still, I don't want him to go through that again, little one."

"Who's Mirialdo?" Duo asked in confusion, taking a drink out of his tonic. "My info was on Zechs Mequisa."

"They are the same man. Mirialdo Peacecraft was hiding in OZ as Zechs Mequisa until he could start his revenge against the Federation and those that destroyed his life and his homeland.. Treize-sama got caught in the middle though. I won't have him hurt like that again."

"That explains some things that happen on the first night and this morning." Duo mused. "Lady Une, I told him to find a nice boy, girl, dog anything when I left the first night and to stop hitting the bottle. I'm a passing fancy until something better comes along."

"I will put up with you until then I guess," she said with a small smile. "But hurt him and I will be merciless."

"I know." Duo grinned back at her, "You don't have a rep of being warm and fuzzy. I'm sorry that you're not what he wants, since you are really head over heels for him. If you were, I'd be elsewhere and you'd be drinking champagne with him. I'm on a two week schedule if that's good for you. Or we could work something out that is better for you."

"How?" she asked, not bothering to finish her question. This boy was some sort of magician if he was figuring these things out. A lot of people didn't know, Treize-sama she wasn't too sure of herself.

"You wouldn't put up with me making him happy if you weren't. You might not like it, but you both like boys, so that kind of relationship is out. I'll keep him happy and entertained and we'll both not let him know how nasty people can get, deal?" Duo asked with a grin, relieved that Lady Une was willing to put up with him. He would hug her if he wasn't so grubby.

"Deal." she promised. "I hear Treize-sama stirring so I will ask him to sign what I want and you can have him for the rest of the day."

"Okay, I'm leaving tonight, so if you get him to yourself for a while." Duo teased her. "Have fun. May be you'll get lucky and I'll get booted out the door."

Une shook her head, he didn't seem to take anything seriously, including the fact he had been a hair away from getting shot by her and walked towards the bedroom. She encountered Treize walking out of the bedroom, wearing just his pants and a small frown.

"Treize-sama, could you read and sign these papers?" she asked "And your guest seems to be forging through your kitchen in search of a snack."

"Ah," Treize sighed, "I thought he had wandered off again. I shouldn't have worried, his pack and most of his clothes were still here. What do I have to deal with?"

"Just the usual, troop movements, requests from the Romafellers." she replied causally.

"Thank you, Lady Une," he murmured gratefully. "And thank you for not being difficult about my guest."

"He knows his place." she replied calmly. "And we had a very entertaining conversation while I was waiting for you to wake up. He seems like a good boy. You could do worse."

"I didn't think that it mattered to you?" Treize asked dryly. #Entertaining conversation? Good boy? Duo was charming her too?# That was a minor miracle, he thought that no one could get to Lady Une.

Une blushed and stammered a little. "I...I...I...know that it isn't my place, you were clear about that with Mirialdo, but he seems to be nicer about the whole matter. And he has gotten you to stop drinking and he is a lot more cheerier then anyone else is around here." Une said.

"The way that Duo had been treated, cheery seems to be a self defense mechanism." Treize comment dryly. "I should be happy that you won't turn him in. Also he doesn't seem too confident about the defenses about here. He thinks that the guards need to be a little more trigger happy and nervous."

"That was nice of him to tell you." Une said faintly. #How did that come into their conversation? And how much isn't Treize-sama telling me? How much isn't Duo-kun telling me?#

"It is disconcerting that terrorists seem to be able to wander in and out of my quarters at will." Treize teased her. #I'll keep him around just to bother Une. He's about the only person that I've seen fluster her.#

"I will take care of it tomorrow, since Duo-kun said that he was leaving tonight." Une promised, coloring faintly at Treize-sama's teasing.

"That's good enough, since I don't want the person that pointed out the holes in our defense getting shot because we tightened them up on him." Treize replied. #Duo-kun? I don't think that she would get that familiar with him. Duo must be charming her more then he is me. Or is she somehow responding to his incessant cheeriness?#

"That wouldn't be good." Une murmured in agreement.

"Hey, you guys done with business?" Duo called from the kitchen.

"Are we done with business, Lady Une?" Treize asked formally.

"I suppose so, Treize-sama. I will take my leave now." Une replied just as formally.

"No, you don't have to go, just wondering if you wanted to stay for lunch. I think I can throw something together for us. There isn't much here, but I can make something for the three of us if you want to stay. Nothing too fancy though, omelets are about the only thing I can make with the stuff here. Your fridge is emptier then mine is T-chan. You're not gonna be able to take over the colonies if you don't eat right." Duo said, popping out of the kitchen.

"That kitchen is only if he doesn't want to eat in the officer's mess." Une replied stiffly.

"Oh? Still aside from coffee, cheese, some sad looking veggies and eggs there isn't much in there." Duo replied. "Not even take out containers."

"Take out?" Treize asked.

"You haven't done take out? No pizza, Chinese or any kind of fast food?" Duo asked with a smile.

"Not really, pizza delivery doesn't come out this far. I don't think. I haven't really bothered to find out." Treize smiled back.

"Okay, next time I come I'm bringing Chinese or something with me. You've got to see how the other half lives."

"Treize-sama is a man of refined tastes, I can not see him eating take out." Une told Dou stiffly, trying to banish the picture of Duo sneaking into the base, his arms full of little white boxes and alerting the entire base to his presence with the smell of the garlic beef he was carrying. It had almost caused her to giggle, but that wasn't very dignified.

"Eh? You should try it at least once." Duo said. "Now what do want in you omelet? And what do you want Lady Une, ëcause it's sorta lunch time and I bet you were thinking of skipping it, which isn't good for you."

"I don't want to intrude..." Une said, looking at Treize.

"Not at all, Lady Une," Treize assured her. "I think Duo wants to reassure you that he has my best interests at heart. So eat lunch with us and is there anything else that we needed to go over?"

"Not really."

"So has anything blown up while I was asleep?" Treize asked, as he wandered into the kitchen. Une followed him and was amused to see Duo trying to reach the plates on one of the upper shelves. He had crawled onto the counter and was handing then down to Treize.

"Being short sucks."

"But you do fit nicely in my arms, my sweet."

"I'm not sweet and I really don't think that Lady Une wants to hear the details of our relationship. Just let me get down from here, throw on a shirt and tie my hair back, because it's going to get everywhere if I don't. Then I'll make lunch. ëkay."

"Lady Une doesn't actually think that you're here just to cook us lunch." Treize replied. #I really don't think that you're shy. Are you trying to not hurt her feelings?#

"No, but there is discretion, you do know that word?" Duo asked, jumping down from the counter.

"So sayth the person that sent me flowers, the morning after. You might as well just had taken out an ad on the local station and announced that we had sex. Do you know how many people saw those being delivered?" Treize teased him.

"Well I didn't have them sign the card did I? It was a simple thank you note and I pitched my voice high enough so that they couldn't tell I was a guy." Duo defended himself.

"He sent you those flowers?" Une asked incredulously. #Flowers? Thank you notes? What was going on here? Duo-kun's acting like it was a date instead of an assignment.#

"He" Duo said pointing at Treize, "can explain, I'm hungry and want to start lunch and I don't cook with my hair loose so let me fix it."

He gave T-chan a quick hug and dashed into the bedroom. He threw on his shirt, gave his hands a quick wash and bundled his hair into a pony tail, he really didn't have time to brush it all out. It would keep it back and he could shove it under his shirt if it got in the way.

Duo went back into the kitchen and started preparing things for omelets. He listened to Une and T-chan talk about bases, plans and troop movements. He couldn't figure out if they trusted him that much or it was some elaborate trap on their part.

Lunch went smoothly at least. He didn't burn anything and Une got to see that Treize really did want him here. As soon as he joined them at the table, the conversation switched to food, music, and other neutral topics that they could talk about safely. Duo realized that he was way out his depth with these two elegant people, but did enjoy the argument of haute cuisine vs. take out. He couldn't believe that neither one of them had ever done take out, he lived on the stuff now that he could afford it. Cooking was something he only did when there was more then himself in a safe house. He did have some passing knowledge of good cooking, thanks to hanging around the kitchen in some of the Winner estates. Sister Helen had taught him the basics, but they had been feeding over a hundred, so it usually had been nothing fancy . He'd liked helping out in the kitchen at the orphanage. He probably would still be there if the Feds hadn't destroyed the place.

Duo cleaned up as Treize escorted Une out of the apartment. He watched silently when he came back as Duo finished washing the dishes and dried them.

"You didn't have to do that," he said quietly.

"The cooking, the cleaning up or letting Lady Une eat with us?" Duo asked, starting to put the dishes away.

"Lady Une eating with us. " Treize said, helping put things away.

"She looked hungry and she didn't throw a fit when she found us in bed together." Duo replied "She took it a lot better then I thought she would."

"Oh...that's why you left my bed this morning." Treize said, "I thought it as to rifle my desk for secrets."

"That's next visit," Duo teased him, "She walked in and we nearly shot each other. So we went into the kitchen to talk things out."

"And?" Treize asked, #Are you that nervous that you pull on a gun on any strange noise? That's no way to live.#

"And what?" Duo replied. "We talked, you woke up and I fed the two of you. Thanks for letting me cook. I'm not too fancy at it, but I like to cook for people. What's next on the agenda?"

"Well, it'll be dark in a few hours, it's later then you thought." Treize said, leaning over to place a kiss on top of Duo's head. #Talked it out? What did you and my faithful shadow decide about me? Do I really want to know?#

Duo silently returned the gesture with a hug, molding his body into Treize's They stood that way for a while until Treize stopped trying to figure out how he was being manipulated by Une and Duo. "Well, as much as I want to spend the rest of the afternoon with you in bed, a shower might be a good idea. Just so that you have some energy to carry out whatever you have to do tonight."

"Showers are fun...big enough stall and you can do some really interesting things..." Duo teased. "Want to find out?"

"Duo..." Treize sighed, "You always this energetic?"

"Yup" he assured him proudly, "It's not like I'm going to see you tomorrow or a lot, so I'm going to cram as much as possible into this visit. Next visit, if you still want me to visit you, might be the same way."

"Duo, you don't have to do that." Treize said quietly. #The truth is out, they trying to kill me by exhaustion.#

"Hey T-chan, it's called making memories. Something to keep me occupied in the future. Nice memories to crowd out the bad ones. Don't think that I don' t want you, just because I was told to be here. I'm enjoying myself. You should enjoy yourself too." Duo sounded serious. ëCome on, T-chan. Let yourself go. Just have fun. I'm havin' fun even if you don't believe it.'

"Duo, a nice bath then and see what happens from there. I was serious when I said that you don't have to keep me active and entertained sexually the entire time you're here. I liked finding out that you like to cook. I'll keep more food around so that the next time you can impress me."

"Thanks, T-chan." Duo said, giving him a hug. #Wow, you really do think I'm a person. That's so sweet. You really are a nice guy, even with the crap that you've pulled in the past. I shouldn't hold it against you because my past isn't spotless either. I just haven't managed to fuck up a lot of people at once, outside the church.#

"Do you have bubble bath in that pack of yours or are you willing to use mine?" Treize teased him.

"I'll use yours, bath oil doesn't sink into the skin like massage oil. But I got my own shampoo. I live out of that pack. If it don't fit in there or Shinigami, I don't keep it."

"Shinigami?" Treize asked.

"That's the name of my Gundam." Duo said. "I named him when we met. He's about the only thing I give a damn about. And if you haven't figured it out by my track record with your people, I'm usually death on two legs for anyone that sees me in him."

#Oh, Duo what happened to you that you think that you are death? I haven't met anyone this alive and caring in a while. You shouldn't think of yourself as death. You're too warm.# Treize thought.

"Hey, T-chan, you in there?" Duo asked waving his hand in front of his eyes. "Earth to T-chan. Don't tell me, the omelet is attacking back?"

"No Duo, just thinking." Treize replied lightly.

"Nothing good, you had a sad look in your eyes. Anything that I can help with?" he asked.

"No, just let's relax and you can get out of here. I'm not chasing you away, but I don't want you to get careless because I tired you out."

"Not to worry, I'm inexhaustible. I've gone a lot longer without sleep and still able to function. You worry too much. How hot do you like the water? I'm just below boiling most of the time, from the complaints that I've gotten."

"I'm about the same way, so we have that much in common. I'll start the bath, you get your stuff. And there are some extra towels in my room. Could you grab them?"

""Kay T-chan, Any thing else? We can finish off the strawberries and champagne, it's a shame to waste them."

"Just so long as you leave here sober enough to drive, fly or whatever." Treize said.

"I've got enough food in me to cover the alcohol, so don't worry about that. I hadn't eaten much last night and so it went to my head real fast. Strawberries aren't enough to cover champagne."

"I knew that, I was hoping that I got some information about you from that. Treize admitted, "but I learned a lot about that without it."

"Oh?" asked Duo, sinking into the tub, appreciatively, after fetching the towels and champagne. "God, this feels good. You are trying to spoil me aren 't you? What did you learn?"

"Hmm" Treize answered, climbing in the tub also. He reached over and smeared some bubbles on Duo's nose, laughing at the face that he made. "I learned that you like to cook and adore food, enjoy classical music and Gilbert and Sullivan. You named your Gundam Shinigami, and you are a nice person, even though life hasn't been nice to you. You like bubble baths. And you fit into my arms divinely. What have you learned?"

"That's easy." Duo answered, moving to snuggle up to Treize. "You are touchie-feelie type of guy. You like being the top, but don't have to be in control all the time. You've been so deprived as to not ever have had left over Chinese food or cold pizza for breakfast. And I am way out of my league with you on anything having to do with culture."

"And is that what you're going to pass onto your superiors?" Treize asked quietly.

Duo squirmed around to face him. The slipperiness of that bath oil made that an interesting move. T-chan may claim to be not interested, but his body was telling Duo a different story. Duo teased him a little while, before a playful growl from T-chan told him he was pushing his luck.

"I'm not telling them anything, " he whispered in his ear, "They gotta ask me first and recently all they have been interested in doin' is givin' me orders. So if they're not askin', I'm not tellin'."

"Thank you Duo." Treize said quietly. "I don't mind, but I told you that you don't have to be a sex kitten for me."

"Hey, the opportunity's presenting itself and I am taking advantage of it. Just because I'm teasin' you, doesn't mean that we're going all the way."

"Duo!"

"You're so cute when you're peeved." Duo teased him, wrapping his legs around his waist and kissing him. "I can't resist teasin' you because of that."

Treize let Duo seduce him in the tub, allowing the boy have his way with him, he wasn't going to argue with him if it evidently made him happy. Miri or any of his other lovers hadn't been this playful. Duo didn't seem to be in awe of the fact that he was having something, this odd arrangement that couldn't be called an affair, with a general of OZ. It was refreshing.

Duo was being slow and gentle, treating him as if he was made out of spun glass. He also discovered the advantage of a smaller partner, when he turned the tables on him and took charge. They made love for a couple of hours, not worrying about the time, until they both noticed the slight buzzing noise coming from the bedroom.

"Shit!" Duo swore, "That's my alarm. I set it in case we were both asleep when I had to leave." He was cuddled in Treize's lap, idly playing with his hair. Treize was stroking his back, enjoying the quiet. Both of them were too sated and comfortable to move.

"Just let me turn that off and then take a quick shower. Then I got to split." Duo said reluctantly, getting up from the water.

"I know, we both look like prunes we've been in here so long" Treize commented.

"Mm" Duo agreed as he came back from the other room. He jumped into the shower and started washing his hair. "It's worth it though, don't you agree? Bubble bath makes a good lubricant."

"But if you want to get clean, one shouldn't use it that way." Treize argued.

"You have to rinse off afterwards anyway, so take advantage of the fact." Duo said, rinsing his hair off. "Could you hand me the conditioner or I'm gonna spend all night just combing this mess out."

"That wouldn't be bad." Treize said, starting to soap up Duo's body as he worked on his hair. "And you do have a few bruises I'm sorry to say."

"No it wouldn't but I got things to do and places to be, so I got to get out of here," Duo said. "Mm...a little lower, that feels good. And I was more worried about handcuffs and other nasty shit."

"When can I get to see you again?" Treize, whispered in his ear. "And I promise no nastiness."

"A couple of weeks" Dou replied wiggling because Treize was starting to tickle him. "And thanks."

"Not good. I've have meetings in Boston. Unless you can make time to see me there? And what are you thanking me for? "

"I'm not sure, so I'm just gonna say may be. Where will you be? Just in case I can make it. I'm not gonna hack into half a dozen hotels looking for you." Duo replied, stepping out of the shower and drying himself off. "And I'm thanking you for no weirdness."

Treize watched, amused that Duo managed to get dressed and his hair braided in a few minutes. The conditioner really was a plus. He didn't think that hair down to your thighs could be brushed out that fast.

"The reservations are at the Plaza. I don't know what room, but I think that you can probably hack into the system and find out what room I'm in."

"No problem, but I can't guarantee that I'll be there, okay" Duo said, turning around to give Treize a hug. "I'm not promisin' anything to you, because I don't want to lie to you. That wouldn't be nice."

"I appreciate that, Duo more then you realize." Treize whispered into his hair.

Duo leaned up and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "I gotta go now. I'll see myself out. And if I get caught, which I don't think I will, I don't know you. I don't want you to get in trouble with anyone."

"Duo, my sweet, that is nice, but don't worry about that. I can protect myself." Treize replied, trying not to laugh. It was touching and amusing that Duo was willing to protect him.

"Romafellers are looking for any excuse to get you, according to info that I got. I trust the source, he's usually pretty good. So let me do this, ëkay?" Duo said, looking fierce.

"I give in, but are you sure?" Treize teased him, "You can always claim that you are sneaking in to see Lady Une."

"I'm sorry that I brought it up," Duo laughed, giving him another kiss. "No one would buy that one if I told them, she's got too scary a rep. But I got to go."

"Good bye, my sweet and I would love to show you Boston, so do try to show up." Treize purred at him.

He would let Duo continue this little experiment. If he sent him away now, he would never find out why Duo was sleeping with him, besides orders. He had learned a little about him, but would like to learn more. As usual with most things in his life, there was more to what was on the surface. He would enjoy peeling away all the layers to get to the real reason why Duo was sleeping with him. And while he was in control now, Treize wonder how long it would be before the balance of power shifted in this relationship. For all of Duo's good natured teasing, the boy had a strength of will that few people matched. If he didn't he wouldn't be a Gundam Pilot.

 

Conversations I

"I didn't think that you'd put up with it..." asked a lazy sensuous voice.

Lady Une raised an eyebrow, but gave no other reaction. "He keeps Treize-sama happy. Who am I to complain?"

"You screamed the first time you had caught us together. What changed?" Zechs's lazy voice took on an edge of bitterness, remembering the scene. It had not been pretty.

"He's no threat to me. You were. And I never thought that you had Treize-sama's best interests at heart." ëHe sent him flowers and he made him laugh, something I never managed to do and you never tried' she thought.

"And that little bastard of a Gundam pilot does?" Zechs snarled, completely out of temper with the cool woman in front of him. She always did manage to put him out of sorts, even without their arguments over Treize.

"Duo Maxwell is honest about their relationship. Treize-sama knows where he stands with him and Duo is about the only person in his life that does not have some Byzantine plot going on around him.

"Including you, his faithful aide-de-camp?" Zechs mockingly asked her.

Une looked coldly at him, "This is OZ, everyone is plotting something. I am no different."

"The difference is that you plot is to protect your darling Treize-sama. Most of them are to harm him."

"True enough. That is why I like Duo. His plot is refreshingly simple. Besides," Une's tone grew slightly amused, "he seems to be fond of me also."

"And what is his plot?" Zechs inquired delicately, his eyebrow raised. That Duo Maxwell was fond of Une seemed very odd. Anyone besides Treize liking that harridan was odd.

Une smiled frostily. "If I told you I'd have to kill you."

 

INTERLUDE III

Treize stretched and frowned at the paperwork that covered his desk. The autumn rains were here and it was cold and miserable. He really didn't want to do paperwork. What he wanted was to cuddle a certain teasing Gundam pilot in his arms, in front of a fireplace and feed him strawberries, to give hima taste of summer. Even if he did cause half the paperwork that chained him to his desk.

He was spoiled by those stolen visits and he knew it. He didn't care any more why Duo was in his bed, he was just enjoying it, like Duo asked him to do in the beginning. He popped by when he could, seeming to know Treize's schedule better then he did. He wondered if there was the mole on his staff who was getting Duo that information.

That they had managed to steal an entire week almost to themselves was a miracle. Treize had informed Duo that he was going to be in Boston for a week, at a conference and that he would have some extra time there. Duo had grinned and said may be, but Treize knew it was a yes. Duo was honest enough with him not to promise anything that he wouldn't be able to keep.

It had been summer. Boston was an eternal tourist city and Duo had managed to drop in to see him. Treize had spent the mornings with business and the afternoons playing tourist with Duo. They laughed and explored the ethnic neighborhoods that still were there after they countries that their inhabitants claimed to have come from had disappeared. Duo had eaten his way through most of the pastry shops in the North End. Treize was amazed at the amount of food that he could put away.

Treize would at times forget that this was the enemy and he should really do something about him. Especially when he had whipped cream on the end of his nose. It had been hard not to grab the boy at times and kiss him, but Boston was still quite conservative in some ways. An implied romantic relationship between two males was not to be flaunted. The nine years difference in the age wouldn't make it any better. It didn't matter that Duo was an old, old soul with his experiences. Most people looked at the package and thought that Treize was taking advantage of Duo. Treize seriously at times felt like a novice compared to what he saw in Duo's eyes at times.

The evenings they had spent exploring each other's bodies. Treize was astonished and pleased to find out the depths of Duo's passion and sensuality. The boy had passed him in some areas for decadence. Treize usually fell into bed each exhausted from the evenings activities. The bathtub filled with Jello still made him hard thinking about it. And what tricks Duo knew with his mouth and hair amazed him. It hadn't been nonstop sex every evening, Treize took Duo to Shakespeare on the Common one night and Duo had surprised him with tickets to the ballet another night. Treize had enjoyed both evenings thoroughly.

While the sex had been incredible, it was the conversations afterwards that astonished him. Duo was willing to admit that his education hadn't been the greatest, but he was willing to try and learn about anything. Their conversations had ranged from the classics to art and poetry, to the best way to stake out a target to be taken out. And Treize enjoyed them all.

That Duo asked that Une join them for the last day together, angered Treize, until Duo pointed out that Une needed some relaxation also. Treize was astonished at how much fun the three of them had together. Museums, the seashore and more pastries in the North End. He hadn't seen Une enjoy herself that much. It probably was because they were thought of as a couple, rather then Duo and himself. The part that had astonished him was when Duo left the next day, Lady Une had gotten a big hug, chocolates and a request that she take of Treize for him.

Treize had hoped that may be Duo was starting to regard him as something more then an assignment, like wiping out Leos and blowing up bases. That little scene with Lady Une told him that Duo might be getting fond of him too. If it was just sex, Duo wouldn't have asked Lady Une to take care of him. He was having feelings for Duo, but he didn't expect them to be returned. He would like to be able to settle down with the boy someday, raise roses and watch him cook. That would be nice. God knows what Duo wanted after the war, besides to survive it.

He didn't ask him about things like that, preferring to find out his favorite books and music. Things that could be talked about in the present, with no planning for the future or reminiscing about the past. It hurt Duo too much to think like that Treize found out. After the haunted look that Duo had in his eyes about a casual question about where he had learned to like ballet, Treize learned that past and the future were two things that Duo was running the fastest from. So Treize asked him no questions, enjoyed the moments that he stole with him from everything else and did anything he could to make his lover happy.

And Treize had just wasted God knows how much time, staring at paperwork instead of processing it and worrying about a certain enticing terrorist, who had caused a lot of the aforementioned paperwork with his activities. If he was going to show, he would have done so by now. He would go to bed and continue this in the morning. He made his way to his bedroom, glaring at the empty bed and wishing that Duo was there. Waiting for him with his fey air and wicked body, that promised more delights then anyone had a right to experience. And all Treize wanted to do was cuddle with the boy. He hadn't felt this way about any of his former partners, including Mirialdo and he thought that it had been a forever love until Mirialdo had left him.

He was pulled from his thoughts by the sound of something scratching outside his window. Hoping that it was Duo, but not wanting to take a chance, he slowly approached the window, gun in hand. There had been a couple of close calls already with apparent acidents and it didn't hurt to be too careful. Treize pulled back the curtain, and was astonished to see Duo out there fumbling with the lock. He quickly put down his gun and opened the window, barely catching Duo as he fell in from the outside.

Duo was soaking wet and streaked with mud and blood. Treize could see a bruise on one cheek and the boy was shaking with cold. He quickly carried him to the bathroom and stripped off his clothes, leaving them in a sodden heap on the floor. He was mildly amused to see that Duo had on garters, hose and bra underneath his clothing. He was not amused at the other bruises and cuts that he found. Duo didn't say anything even when he was naked and Treize was supporting him in the shower. His teeth stopped chattering after a while and leaned into his body as Treize gently washed away the mud, blood; not all his thankfully and make up that covered Duo's body. He dried him off and carried him to the bed, astonished that Duo hadn't said a word. He had hissed when Treize checked his cuts and then bandaged them, but that was about it. He meekly took the pills that Treize had handed him.

Treize started to keep a full first aid kit in his bedroom, after he realized that Duo usually was showing up to be with him after another assignment or battle and sometimes needed to be bandaged up and taken care of. He had settled the both of them in bed and was cuddling Duo before the boy said a word.

"Thank you." Duo sounded exhausted.

"What happened?" Treize's tone was concerned. Duo looked terrible. And he didn't say he was coming by tonight, but he had developed the habit of stopping in more often. He didn't say why and Treize wasn't going to ask. He had a feeling that he wasn't going to like the answer.

"I don't know if I should tell you. You might want to be surprised when the info comes in."

"Assassination?" he asked quietly. #No battles, nothing around here besides the base that would interest him, that leaves only that, unfortunately.#

"Mmm" Duo responded, starting kiss Treize's chin. #One in a long line, T-chan and the end of that line is getting further away from me then I like.#

"Will they be looking for you or a girl?"

"Girl, but you knew that with the bra and make up that you found on me."

Duo returned to kissing Treize, teasing his tongue with his mouth to stop the questions. Treize allowed Duo to do that for a while, but when he made a move down his body. Treize stopped him.

"Duo..."

"Mmm?"

"Don't. Just sleep with me tonight. You're exhausted, I don't expect you do anything. I just want to hold you."

"And if I didn't want to be held?" Duo asked irritably, starting to wake up.

"Then you wouldn't be here. You'd gone back to your safe house and not come here." #You didn't come here sex tonight or even lately, you came here for comfort, even if you don't want to admit that. I'm willing to lie about that most of the time, but you look terrible and you'd just hurt yourself more if you tried. Drop that mask at least, my sweet.#

"T-chan..." Duo started and then trailed off. "It went a little rough. I didn't want to be alone afterwards. And the sad part is you're the first person I thought of when I wanted to be with someone. Not my team mates. And I hate myself for that."

"Why? Duo you are a person that needs people. You're not like Heero or Trowa. And I seem to be the person you're closest to now. So you ended up here." #Thank you for giving in to what you don't want to admit to. That you came to cry on my shoulder rather then anything else means more to me then you want to know.#

"And isn't it pathetic that the enemy general is the one person that I can curl up with." Duo spat out as he rolled over and pulled himself out of Treize's embrace.

Treize sighed. The self-loathing that Duo had in his voice was new. Treize was just glad that Duo felt safe and relaxed enough with him to unleash these emotions with him. They had gotten to know each other better over their little vacation. Or may be it was the drugs speaking. Either way, one of the masks that Duo always wore had come down. He may not like what he was going to hear, but he was glad that he was seeing more of the real Duo. Even though the boy claimed there was nothing left of him.

"They all paired up didn't they? And you're the odd one out. Is that why you got this assignment?"

"They all paired up, but that isn't the problem. Do you really want to know why I crawled into your bed like a good little whore?" Treize winced at the venom and agony in Duo's tone and the way he referred to himself as a whore. He missed the first part of Duo's sentence from his reaction.

"...so my teammates wouldn't have too. Not that our superiors cared. I was chosen and if you didn't like me, they would have rotated though all of them until you were satisfied. Fight for freedom and spread you legs." Duo sat up and wrapped his arms around his legs, rocking back and forth a little. "It's not that I hadn't done it before. And they knew it. I had hoped that as soon as I became a Gundam pilot, I'd never have to peddle my ass again. But here I am."

"Duo..." Treize's tone was gentle as he stroked his back. After the first flinch, Duo ignored Treize. " You are not a whore! A whore wouldn't have told Lady Une to take care of me. A whore wouldn't have sent me flowers after our first night because you couldn't stay as long as you would have liked. A whore wouldn't call me T-chan. Just because you have are here on orders doesn't mean that you are a whore. If anything that bastard that sent you in here is one."

Duo continued like he hadn't heard him. "I'm sick of it Treize. The running and hiding. The nonstop assignments. I'm so tired of wetwork. I don't talk to them any more, just to avoid telling them what I have been doing. The ocean of blood that I'm wading through before I get sent to hell. The screams that echo in my mind and the dead who talk to me in my dreams. The innocents that are slaughtered in the name of peace..." Duo's voice trailed off as he broke down and sobbed. Treize put his arms around Duo and held him as he cried himself to sleep.

Duo woke up the next morning, feeling a little light headed. He put that down to all the crying that he had the night before. He hadn't cried since the massacre at the church, all those years ago. He grabbed a pair of pants that Treize had left for him and slipped then on.

#Real smart Duo,# he jeered to himself. #What was missing was the confession poisoning him. A total break down, how sexy. How seductive. How really freaking pitiful.#

He had stirred when he heard the phone ring and Treize answer it. He registered the sound vaguely, especially the shocked sound that Treize made when he heard the news. The painkillers that T-chan had slipped him would have knocked out an elephant.

Treize wasn't in the bedroom and Duo wandered into the bathroom to clean up the mess that was in there. He was trapped here until he could slip away tonight. Treize might get back to him before then, if only to detain him for being the enemy. If Treize spoke to him again. He didn't expect him to be holding his hand when he woke up, but it would have been nice.

#Last night's true confessions might have put off the young general. No one wants to hear that you're sleeping with them so that your friends won't have to. Confessing to having been a street whore wasn't too smart either. Were you trying to disgust him so that this would be over before T-chan ends up like most of the people that you were... fond of? Admit it, you've gotten too close and you hope that your famous luck won't catch up to him. So you are doing everything in your power to push him away, hold him at arm's length, whatever you have to do to keep this going but not be personal. But the first night that you showed up here so that the monsters under your bed wouldn't haunt you, you knew it was a loosing battle with your heart# A little voice in his head was asking. #And last night was the last battle of the campaign before you surrender. That's why you said all the things you did. One last effort to save him and yourself before it all goes to hell.#

Duo was musing about all this while he was hanging up his clothes to dry out and wondering how to get rid of the bra and garter when Treize entered the bathroom.

"Well?" Duo asked, his tone neutral. He kept his back to Treize, not wanting to deal with things yet. The look of disgust that was usually in a John's eyes after a while, he didn't want to see in T-chan's. The Johns always thought that a kid had a choice about peddling his ass. Like he could do anything else to get cash on a poor colony. Or food.

"Duo..." Treize, sounded concerned, which caused him to turn around. "Are you feeling better? I have something for you to eat. And...I'm sorry."

"Sorry about what Treize? I unloaded a lot of emotional baggage on you last night, could you be a little more specific?" Duo asked mockingly, grinning crookedly at him.

The eyes were wary and frightened, the grin hadn't managed to reach his eyes. Duo was expecting the worse again Treize knew and was trying to cushion the blow, by acting like it didn't matter what happened.

After everything that he told him last night, Duo wasn't expecting anything besides to be shown out the door. What he told him might account for some of the uneasiness that felt in Duo at odd moments in the beginning, worry that he would be replaced with one of his fellow pilots. Treize couldn't see any of the others pulling this off with as much caring as Duo had done. He didn' t think he could fall in love with any of the others like he had with Duo.

"That you had to kill that pervert with your bare hands. Or was it something else?"

Running his eyes up and down Duo's braid, Treize was angry that Duo had shut himself off again. His last lover had problems with masks also. He did not know how he attracted these people! With Miri it had been a desire to hide himself from the world until he could fight back. With Duo it was a self defense mechanism so that the world wouldn't kill him.

Duo's mask was firmly in place this morning. And Treize wasn't going to push things by reopening last night's wounds. He had spent half the night listening to Duo whimper in his sleep talking to his ghosts. It hadn't been the first time and probably wasn't going to be the last, but it tore at him each time he heard it. Duo never mentioned his nightmares to him, so Treize wondered if he even remembered them.

Duo had told him, while he was brushing it out once that he had kept his hair long because of the good memories that he had with people that he used to live with. Treize didn't know if they were friends, family or what and Duo never told him. Treize was faintly disturbed that Duo had to soil those memories by using it to kill someone with it.

"You got it in one T-chan" Duo was still mocking him.

"Duo..." Treize's voice had a note that made Duo start to pay attention.

"What?" Duo put on his most innocent face and widened his eyes. Innocent always sold better.

"I didn't expect this to be a storybook romance. But I think I took your advice from our first night together. I found a nice boy." Treize said quietly.

"And who might that be?" Duo's tone was brittle and biting. Treize watched Duo's eyes fill with something, he couldn't figure out what. Despair, cynicism, hope? He wasn't expecting a good answer, especially after last night.

"You." Treize said gently.

"T-chan you definitely have been drinking too much again. Your short term memory is shot. Or didn't you really hear anything of what I told you last night? Nice boy is not a phrase that can be used to describe me"

Disbelief was the most prominent emotion that Duo was showing. The mask wasn't as firmly in place as he thought he could read his eyes this well. Or he was able to see most of what Duo kept hidden from the world.

"Duo you wouldn't have told me all that last night unless you still had a heart and a soul. So don't hate yourself for what you are doing. Or feeling. I'm glad that you were willing to tell me all that. "

"And will you still be singing the same tune if I kill you, because I am ordered to?"

"Duo you're a soldier, I'm a soldier and orders are orders. Just answer me one question. Will you regret it if you have to kill me?"

Duo smiled brilliantly. Treize was enthralled by it and barely heard his soft words, "T-chan I will regret it if I have to kill you." He barely noticed how sad Duo's eyes were.

"Then let's have breakfast. You didn't have supper last night."

"T-chan, T-chan, T-chan the only problem that I have is I haven't gotten any lately." Duo teased him, his good humor apparently restored.

"And you won't with those injuries. Plus the mad scramble that is going on for your last assignment's power base is going to keep me busy. If you wanted to get ësome' from me, as you so colorfully put it, killing someone that was going to cause that big a power vacuum isn't how you go about it." Treize teased back. "Besides Lady Une is going to join us, so put some more clothes on, unless you are tempting her, also."

"Nope, being the third between you two would kill me. You both want to be dominant too much and I would be caught in the middle."

Treize choked on that comment, causing Duo to laugh at him. "You hadn't figured that one out yet? You know she wants you T-chan, you are oh so sexy even if you haven't figure it out yet, but realized that it would be disastrous if she tries it. Aside from the technical problem that you both like guys."

"Duo..." Treize was floored by a mental image of a naked Une, still wearing her glasses, trying to seduce him.

"What did I say? Why do you think she put up with me after she caught us in bed?" Duo asked, concerned about the odd look that was on Treize's face. Was it the fact that Une wanted to jump him or the fact that he never figured out that he had a hot body.

Probably the last, Duo knew that a lot of people had hit on Treize for what he could do for them, not for his looks. Duo felt a slight twinge at that, they had that in common. Not much else, but that.

Treize must have learned really early that too many people wanted him for what he could do, not for who he was, like he had. He wondered how old Treize was when he learned that lesson. Duo would bet he was not much older then he was when he realized that eating had a high price sometimes.

Not that he was much better, sleeping with him because of orders and so those bastards wouldn't send Quatre or one of the rest of them in here wasn' t a much better reason. He felt bad that he would never be able to tell him how much he was enjoying this relationship and it was for T-chan: the guy who held him when he was having a nightmare, spoiled him with pastries and tried not to disturb him with wishes for the future or questions about the past. The one person that he could remove most of his masks in front of. Not General Khushrendra who had most of the world leaders asking how high when he said jump. They were the same person he knew, but one does not fool around with a general in bathtub full of Jello. T-chan you could and he wanted to repeat the experience someday, with the sparking kind of Jello. Duo smiled foolishly at the memory.

"The truth comes out..." Treize exclaimed, enjoying his smile, even if he couldn't guess the cause. "What did you say to her, when you when you two were in the kitchen?"

"Basically that she shouldn't have a bad attitude because you were getting some. I wasn't a threat to her power base like Zechs was and neither one of us had any illusions of what was going on. It was purely a physical relationship. Besides which would be worse, a Gundam pilot in your bed or a Romafeller spy? She thought I was the lesser of two evils."

Duo shrugged and walked up to Treize, to give him a hug and a kiss. Treize trapped him against the wall and they spent time hugging each other until they heard Une clear her throat behind them.

Treize had felt a little twinge when Duo said that they relationship was purely physical, but realized that it was a mind set that Duo needed if he as going to keep himself sane enough to continue this. And the key word was ëwas'. Treize had a sneaking suspicion that it had changed since that time. One doesn't drag oneself fifty miles, injured, in the pouring rain for a physical relationship, even if it was only to cry on his shoulder. And Duo's assignment had been about that far away. Duo needed someone badly last night and he came here. Treize didn't have to wonder how many of his more recent visits were for the same reason. A person to be with and chase away his nightmares.

"Treize-sama, Duo-kun. Would you like me to leave?" she respectfully asked.

They guiltily disengaged from each other. Duo really didn't like flaunting his relationship with Treize in front of Une. He respected her too much. And definitely a psycho-bitch, not that it was a bad thing, so long as he was not on the receiving end of it. He moved passed Treize and gave Une a hug. She stiffened and then relaxed, gently returning it after a second.

"Breakfast?" Duo chirped, "I'm sure you guys are hungry. Just let me find a shirt. Unless you don't want me around?"

"Since we will be discussing how to deal with the latest problem that you have handed us, the discussion will not be a surprise to you." Une frostily pointed out, then her toned softened. "Thank you for getting rid of him, he was an embarrassment to OZ."

"No problem, Oneechan Une." Duo joked, "Always wanted to help a pretty lady in distress." Throwing on a shirt he made his way to the tray of food that Treize had brought in and poured himself a glass of juice. He didn't feel up to food just yet, even though it had been a while since he had eaten last.

"But you know if there is anything that my superiors would ask me about, I will tell them."

"I understand, Duo." Treize said quietly, "Thank you for being honest about it. But eat something. I wasn't kidding when I said that you were too skinny."

"Not hungry, T-chan. It's too early in the morning to think of food. I don't know how you guys do it. And I'm gonna be skinny, that's the way I'm built. I didn't get the muscles that you have." Duo pouted at him and fluttered his lashes. Treize chuckled and dropped the subject, like Duo wanted him too. Last night had been a little too rough for his peace of mind and he still was shaken about it. And Duo never ate in the morning anyway.

Une sighed as she filled up her own plate. #T-chan, how disrespectful and how endearing,# she thought. #And Oneechan? Big sister? Does he actually like me that much? And why?#

Aloud she said, "If you could send me a copy of what you are passing on to you superiors I would appreciate it."

Duo sprayed juice at that request and stared at her, shocked. " ëNeechan, can I say no to that one?"

"Of course Duo, I would have been astonished if you had said yes. And very suspicious of the contents of the report." Une replied calmly. "Have some more juice."

Duo shook his head and mopped up what he had sprayed. He sat quietly, listening to the political strategies that they were going to employ in the fight for the power that had just fallen into their hands. T-chan and Lady Une were looking at him strangely once and a while, wondering why he was so quiet. He usually had some comment to make about what they were talking about, even if it wasn't his business.

Lady Une had a look in her eye that spoke volumes to Duo. She had figured out that last night's assassination had strengthened Treize's power base in the Romafeller Foundation. Not that it was a bad thing in her eyes. Itseemed that Duo was doing more and more of those assignments, which wasn't good for him. It was one more step in controlling either Oz or Treize through Duo's actions. Duo idly wondered if Treize would figure it out, he did have some very big blind spots he had noticed. Or he didn't want to upset whatever they had going on here, he was very considerate in that way. He was willing to wait for Duo to tell him what was going on.

But he and Une had a good relationship going. She didn't really bother him and he didn't step on her toes. And she loved Treize in her own way, which as the most important thing. Someone would be there for Treize pick up the pieces if this blew up in his face. Treize was the innocent bystander in all this to a certain extent. He and Lady Une hadn't been innocent in a long time. He has started calling her ëoneechan' as a joke and it stuck. He liked her, she was a good person be with if you could overlook the fanatical side of her.

Duo hadn't realized he had dozed off until he felt a hand touch his forehead. He woke with a start and a punch towards whoever was touching him. He felt it being caught as he opened his eyes. "Sorry," he croaked at Treize. "Bad habit."

"You've got a mild fever. Go back to bed and sleep. I'll leave some juice and food for you. I'll wake you this evening and you can sneak back to your friends." Treize sounded worried.

"T-chan, it's just from being out in the rain. I've survived the plagues on L2, I think I'll survive a cold. Don't worry. Just tuck me into bed and go off and oppress the masses some more." Duo teased him.

"Duo..." Treize sighed. "That you not taking it seriously means that you feel awful. Sleep."

"T-chan..." Duo said and hugged the older man before going back to bed. He did feel crappy, but thought it was just general depression more then anything else. Treize watched him awhile before returning to the mound of work that awaited him.

Duo slept the day away waking to only to either drink some more juice or hit the bathroom. He didn't even notice when T-chan crawled into bed with him for a nap. He was surprised to see it was dark out when Treize woke him again.

"Duo...You have to get up. I'm leaving and you can't stay here."

"Mmm...give me five minutes to get dressed and I'm out of here." Duo blearily replied, crawling out of the bed and struggling to the bathroom. He frowned at the messy clothes that he had to put back on, but showing up too clean might cause the others to be suspicious of him. Better to be dirty then dead. They were going to wonder where he was going, at least Trowa and Heero were starting to wonder about his odd late night forays. So long as they didn't push it, he wouldn't tell them. Hell, they had something that resembled a life, why couldn't he?

"Are you okay?" Treize asked, concern evident in his voice. His tone caused Duo to look up from where he was struggling into his dirt stiffened jeans. Showing up in anything of Treize's was not a good idea, either. So back into what he wore last night, except for that damned girl stuff. He'd ditch that someplace else along the way. He wasn't too worried about getting caught. Most of the descriptions were for a young girl with short black hair and green eyes. Thank god for wigs, contacts and make up.

"I wouldn't like to fight, but I can make it back to the others. Thanks for asking. Sorry that I wasn't a bit better company on this visit."

"You're sick and I feel badly about sending you out into the night like this."

"T-chan, repeat after me slowly, ëDuo is the enemy'...can you do that? Also what happened to the person that told me this morning about orders and soldiers? It stopped raining. You tried to feed me. It's not that cold out. I'll see you around, okay. And no more kisses because Une will shoot me if you catch this." Duo scolded Treize lightly. His heart skipped a little over the concern that he heard in Treize's voice. It was good to know that someone was worrying about him.

Treize gently hugged Duo goodbye, trying to avoid the bruises. Duo returned it tightly. "T-chan, do you want me to come around again? I'll understand if you say no. I'll think of something so that you don't get another one of us using you."

Duo's voice was quiet and Treize had a mental picture of a small child asking for a favor. Treize had the feeling that a lot of favors that Duo had wished for never happened.

"Duo, I would like it very much if you visited me again. I told you that I took your advice about settling down with a nice boy. And you are not ëusing ' me. I walked into this with my eyes open. I knew that you were sleeping with me because of orders. I also know that if it was distasteful to you, you would have figured out some way of getting out of this liaison without having one of your fellow pilots taking your place. So you like me, I hope. It's enough. You're in a life that has people walking in and out of it all the time. I think you like me as a constant that you can count on, even if I 'm the enemy." Treize said gently.

"Thanks, T-chan. I can drop a lot of the masks that I wear around you." Duo's voice had an edge of sadness to it that made Treize want to drag the boy back to one of his estates and keep him there, safe from the world.

Treize was sure that was the closet thing that Duo could get to an "I love you". He avoided the word like it was a bomb waiting to go off. Given what little hints he had managed to gather from their time together, love was an emotion that had caused more pain then pleasure in his young companion.

Duo gave one more squeeze to Treize and a gentle kiss to his cheek, before slowly leaving his room and making his way back to the motorcycle that he had hidden in the woods, outside the base. Back to his fellow pawns.

 

 

Interlude IV

Treize didn't even hear Duo come in. That he was in the shower might account for his carelessness. The sight that met his eyes when he got out was something that he really didn't like. He wrapped a towel around himself and frowned. He wondered what was going on.

Duo leaned against his bathroom door, the steam from the shower wafting passed him and escaping into the bedroom. He was dressed in a tight leather pants that were laced up the side from his ankles to his waist, just above his hips. The back and the front didn't meet, leaving a gap of a couple of inches on the outside of his leg, where the ties were. You could tell that the wearer didn't have anything on underneath those pants. There was no zipper that Treize could see, but the crotch looked like it another one of those lace up jobs. A fishnet crop top and paint was all that Duo was wearing above the waist. He looked delicious, erotic and the answer to anyone's wet dream.

So long as one didn't looked into his eyes. Treize was disturbed to see how hard they were. How professional. And no matter how delightful Duo looked for him now in that outfit, Treize had the sneaking, sinking feeling thatthis was what he had worn on L2 to sell himself on the streets. He was upset to feel his groin hardening at the sight before him. He was two seconds away from slamming him against the wall and ripping off those pants.

"Duo..." Treize started and then stopped. He couldn't control the raw lust that was in his in voice at the sight in front of him. A small voice in the back of his head gave small thanks to the fact that Duo had made it here without being caught. If he had, Duo would have never made it to the interrogation cells.

"You like?" Duo asked in a careless voice. "I figured you should get what ya pay for, since you know the truth now."

"It's wonderful, but it's not what you are now, is it?" Treize said, hoping to reassure his lover. He winced at his tone. Lust, that's all he heard in it, none of the love that Duo deserved. And lust was not what Duo needed now, no matter what outrageous outfit he showed up in.

Duo needed love more then lust right now. Treize for the last few weeks had been torn between trying to contact him to see if he was all right and ignoring him until he came back of his own. Duo retreating after his little confession was a move that he expected. He actually didn't think that he would come back this soon. Lady Une would have told him if Duo needed help. She seemed to be keeping track of him, for some reason. So if Duo got into any trouble he would have been notified. He had spent most of his free time fighting the urge to head to L2, find the bastard that sent to his bed and maim him. Duo was a person, not a play toy and he shouldn't be treated like one. He wondered if his controller would ever know the difference. Or care. Or was it a habit with him to think of his people as things, so that he could treat them like this. Either reason made Treize want to kill him as slowly as possible, astonished at the rage that he was feeling. This latest incident wasn't endearing him to Treize either.

"I think so. I really hate myself right now T-chan. I'm tired. And I feel like I'm losing control. Not that I had much, but..." his voice trailed off and his eyes softened for a second. The lost child that he had been looked out for a second. Then he controlled himself and slipped his mask back on. The professional was back so fast Treize wondered if he had imagined that moment.

"Duo...I didn't expect a virgin. All they're good for is catching unicorns, who are nasty creatures with the disposition of a camel. You who you are today, because of everything that has happened to you in your past. But that outfit is not who you are today. You're a Gundam pilot and a damn good one." Treize attempted to comfort him. He was no innocent either from the politics and plotting that he had done. He past wasn't anything to be proud of. The bloodshed and back stabbing that he engineered in his destruction of the Alliance made Duo look like an innocent angel.

"You don't want me?" Duo asked, putting on a come hither smile that didn't reach his eyes and sauntering up to Treize, casually feeling him through the towel and smiling at the erection that he found there. "Someone else does though."

"Duo that outfit would make a week old corpse hard." Treize growled, trying hard not to grab him back. Duo wouldn't be able to sit for a week if he gave into what he was feeling "My body is responding to that. My heart and soul wants the Duo that I took to the beach and I watched him build sand castles with the children that were there. The one that asked Une to take care of me and calls the most dreaded woman in OZ, ëOneesan'. The one who I want to cuddle over long winter evening and listen to music with. The Duo that I think of at odd times during the day. The one that I want wake up with for the rest of my life."

"T-chan, he doesn't exist. He is a myth. A mask that I wore to fool you. An illusion. This is the real me. Street brat. The local child of Joy. I wonder why they call us that, it's not a joyful existence." Duo's tone was cold and abstract. He could have been discussing the weather, not himself.

Duo was stoking Treize's erection and he couldn't hold back the moan that the sensation caused. He arched into and leaned down to capture Duo's lips. He started gently, not wanting to rush Duo. Sex was the last thing that his very troubled lover needed, but his body was starting to overwhelm his mind with the practiced touches Duo was giving him. He hoped that he could forgive himself some time for giving into what was happening here.

Duo kissed back roughly, thrusting his tongue into his mouth and bruising his lips. Treize felt Duo snatch his towel away before he could do anything about it. Duo started to very gently play with his nipples, teasing Treize until he felt that he was going to burst. Treize moaned loudly, the contrast between how rough Duo was being with his mouth and how gentle he was elsewhere was making him weak in the knees.

Duo stopped kissing him and slowly worked his way down Treize's chest, nibbling on his collarbone, before making his way down to his nipples. Treize continued to moan, his hands moving to grab at Duo, whether to stop him or encourage him he didn't know. Duo stopped sucking on his right nipple long enough to growl, "stop that."

Duo continued down his chest, his mouth making Treize groan as it slowly and carefully nibbled his way to what was to his target. Treize made one more attempt to stop Duo, before he gave in as Duo swallowed his cock whole in one motion. Treize groaned and almost came right then, but Duo slowly drew his lips back, to the tip and started to gently swirl his tongue around the head. After an endless time, Duo just as slowly started to reswallow him, millimeter by millimeter until Treize felt himself hit the back of his throat. He gasped and came when Duo hummed deep inside him and the vibration sent Treize over the edge. Treize sank into the bathtub in a daze too stunned to do anything else. Duo didn't stop licking and sucking on his cock until it was soft, following his body as it sank. He only spoke when Duo made an attempt to get up off his knees and go.

"Duo," Treize asked softly. "Don't leave."

"Why should I stay? You got off." Duo's tone was brittle. No warmth, no life at all.

"Duo, that bastard is really screwing you over, isn't he?" #As much as I enjoyed that, you didn't. And I feel so ashamed that I did, because there wasn't anything in you. None of the teasing or delight that you've had with this from our first night.#

"Does it matter? Do you care?" Duo looked at him with drained, empty eyes.

"It matters. Even if I didn't care. Don't let him win." Treize pleaded. #Oh Duo you sound so dead. So tired. I will kill them all. They won't haunt my dreams, if it will just get some life back into you. You're starting to sound like the doll that they think you are.#

"I was told that if I wasn't having sex with you, I could kiss flying good bye. Which is why I forced the issue when I did. He won then. He had me under his thumb."

"Duo. Do you, not anyone else, want to continue with our relationship? You have a choice." Treize said quietly. #I'll never touch you again if it would help. You can just sleep here. Be with me as friend only, because this is slowly killing you, more then anything else that they are making you do. #

Duo laughed harshly. "No I don't. Unless they know that I'm still actively continuing this, I don't fly and you get a new playmate. And there's someone that's leaking the info to them. I don't know if the room is bugged, they're checking the sheets or what, but they know. I checked myself for bugs after the first hint that they dropped, but I couldn't find anything in here or on my stuff." #T-chan don't hate me. I just used you like you were the whore in this relationship, not me. Don't hate me, please because hoping that you will understand this or forgive me eventually is the only thing that stopping me from killing myself. #

"Duo, how? The place is swept daily for listening devices. Are you sure that they know, that they're not pulling your chain?"

"T-chan, last time when I showed up and we didn't do anything, I got a message that injured or not, feeling like shit or not, you get laid. Cuddling wasn't an option. I tried to stay away as long as I could, but orders came through and I was to make myself as charming as possible. Or else. So here I am. I don't care if they hear, if you know or what. I'm tired...its getting hard not to self destruct in a battle. Harder not to give in to giving up." #I just want someone to hold me and tell me it's another nightmare. I want to wake in a bed, in a house in the 'burbs, with white picket fence, a normal family and have this entire shitty life of mine be the result of me eating too many pepperoni pizzas before bed time and having a bad dream.#

Duo had sat up and was rocking back and forth slightly. Tears were filling his eyes, causing him to blink rapidly and his eyes were dark. Treize thought he could still drown in those pools of violet, but it would with the sadness that was in them, not the sensuality of their first night together.

"Duo..." Treize breathed and closed his eyes. So much pressure. No wonder Duo hated himself and showed up in that outfit. There probably about a handful of people that Duo trusted and he was lying to all of them. "How long do you have?"

"My orders were for as long as you wanted me. Why?" #Actually, they were ëKeep him entertained you cheap slut. You can do that right at least. Playing hard to get at this stage of the game is counterproductive. Unless you want one of the others doing this? #

"I'll be back." Treize smiled and walked over to Duo, bending down to whisper in his ear, "I have an evil plan, trust me."

Treize threw on some clothes and walked out of the room, turning on the stereo as he left. He knew someplace that they could talk, just had to arrange for a car to get them there. He was going to arrange with Une to spread the story that he was going to be studying the future of OZ and the mobile dolls for a few days. That should keep both his supporters and enemies busy enough looking at shadows so that he could straighten out his love life.

Duo rocked back and forth too tired to move. He was exhausted and just wanted to sleep. He had been doing that a lot lately. Sleeping meant that no one bothered him or ordered him around. Sleep was also an escape that was getting harder and harder to stay in. Too many of his targets had been coming back to haunt him, waking him up.

In the last fight that only thing that kept him from self destruction was the fact that Quatre would be the one that would have had to pick up the pieces afterwards. He still wasn't that desperate yet to punish Quatre for his fuck up.

Duo had fallen asleep, head resting on his knees, when Treize came back to get him. He barely made a sound when Treize picked him up, grabbed his pack and carried him to the car. Une frowned when she saw what Duo was wearing.

"What ever possessed the boy?" she whispered fiercely. She was horrified that he was dressed like that. It was degrading what his superiors were doing to him. He was an excellent pilot and a good person. She hadn't met anyone that was as caring as he was in a while. She knew that she should be jealous of his relationship with Treize, but she couldn't. Not of a boy that treated her like an older sister and had asked her to take care of Treize, her co-conspirator in her plot to shield her Treize-sama from some of the nastier aspects of the war, god knows if it was working, but they were trying. A child that might be dead before the month was out, either because of his enemies or his allies. The way things appeared, Duo had to worry more about from his superiors then his enemies.

"Orders Une," Treize replied tiredly. "They weren't happy about his last visit."

Une frowned. "They're either more degenerate then I thought or something is going on that Duo doesn't know about."

"Could be, but I'd like to get going before he wakes up. Also check everything in my suite for bugs. He said that they can monitor our activity in there. Or that there was someone feeding them information."

"Voyeurs and perverts. Poor Duo-kun." Une sighed. #Who the Hell is doing that! I thought I kept tabs on everyone! If I find him....#

"I'll be back in a couple of days. Come yourself if there's trouble. I'm going to place with no phone or net access. That cabin a couple hours north of here that I stumbled across." Treize said.

"Treize-sama, why are you doing this? He's the enemy." Une asked. #That he is your lover is something entirely separate. You both are professional about keeping yourselves separate that way. Even if you weren't sleeping together you'd probably being trying to help him. Any of the Gundam pilots, because you have more in common with them then most everyone else you know.#

"He's also a sixteen year old boy whose back is against the wall. He might not see seventeen and he deserves more out of life then what he is getting. His superiors are hounding him. He can't talk to anyone about it and I love him. He deserves to be happy, as happy as he can doing what he does."

"Knowing all that you do and don't about him?" Une asked, watching him closely.

"God help me yes." Treize muttered, tightening his hold on Duo. He carried him over to the waiting car, placing him inside and buckling him in. He climbed into the driver's seat and started up the car, waving to Une as he drove off his estate. He was thankful that he was at one of his private estates and not a military base, one of those would have been impossible to sneak off of. He drove for a couple of hours, stopping when he came to a small cabin. Duo had woken up a little halfway though the drive and asked where they were going. Surprisingly satisfied with Treize's answer of ësomeplace' he fell back to sleep again. He woke up fully when the car stopped and got out with Treize.

"Okay T-chan. Where the hell are we?" Duo asked stretching.

The nap had made he feel marginally better. But waking up and dealing with everything was going to be difficult. He almost laughed out loud when he realized why he enjoyed being with Treize so much. It was the fact that they made these timeless moments for themselves. No war, no sides, no politics. Just the two of them.

"Someplace that we can talk without being overheard. It's out of the way. This area has been abandoned for some time. So we are going to talk." Treize said. "Take off your clothes, there's a lake in front of the cabin and we are going to talk in there. A dip in the water should kill any tracking or listening devices that you might have on you."

Duo meekly followed his orders, striping down right there and walking down to the lake and submerging himself in the water, soaking his head. Treize followed his lead, but found it hard to start the conversation, once both of them were standing in the lake. It was like standing in ice water. It would help to the conversation on track, because they were both freezing.

Duo was shivering and Treize remembered a rainstorm that they had been caught in once, they had a delightful time warming each other up afterwards. Treize had a hard time not attacking the boy then and there. But he said they would talk and that Duo would have a chance to make up his mind. Besides the water was cold and he was having a hard time convincing his balls that they should get back to where they belong and stop hiding from the cold water some where in the middle of his chest.

"Duo, what do you want to do?" Treize started.

"T-chan, why are you being nice to me?" Duo asked suddenly. "Our entire relationship, if you can use that term to describe what this is, is based on the fact I'm having sex with you to get information out of you and to spy on you."

"No, our relationship is based on honesty. You could have lied to me at any time during our first night and I would have bought it. I had just lost my lover to the game of politics. That was the first adult affair that I have ever had and it was with someone I considered my best friend, as well as my lover. And he walked out on me because he put his need for revenge before our relationship, after things got difficult. I was hurt and vulnerable. You were kind enough to be up front with why you were with me. And besides conversations that you either overheard or were present for between me and Une, have you gotten any information?" Treize said.

"The first night I was covering my butt. I still thought that I could make a difference. And I didn't want one of the others to be in the position that I was forced into. A quick roll in the hay and I was going to be out of there. Then I felt guilty about treating you like a cheap screw. That had happened to me far too often, so I sent flowers and started thinking about you as a person instead of an assignment. After the second night, things changed. You made me laugh. I discovered outside the spotlight Treize Khushrendra could turn into T-chan. I felt wanted. For me. Not for what I was doing.

In Boston we got know each other better. I could talk to you. And you talked to me, not down at me because I didn't have the same education as you. You showed me that a street rat actually had some worth besides beingexpandable. I could dream..." his voice trailed off, overwhelmed by the emotions that he was feeling inside. There was so much that he wanted to tell him.

"You held me when I had nightmares and you could understand why I had them. You've woke up from a few yourself and let me hold you." Duo continued focusing on the moon above them, afraid to look at Treize. "I hadn't realized how far I had fallen, until that rainy night I showed up at your place half dead, when it was easier to have gone back to the safe house."

Treize moved up beside Duo and took him in his arms. Duo hugged him back, not speaking.

"It's okay Duo. You don't have to say any more." Treize soothed him.

"Just my luck T-chan, I get to kill the guy that I'm...closest to. Just another example of how rotten my luck is. They are probably counting on that." Duo said with a small gulp.

"I'm sorry about earlier," he said, drawing back, "but I didn't want to lose my nerve. That's why I didn't let you speak. I would have started crying. And boys don't cry."

"Sh...it's all right." Treize said, leaning down to kiss him gently on the lips. Duo tentatively kissed back, gradually warming up when Treize wasn't rejecting him. "You know that I still trust you."

"Don't T-chan. Because there is something going on that you don't know about." Duo warned softly.

"Whatever you injected into me the first night?" Treize asked

Duo jerked out of his arms and stared at Treize. "How did you find out? When did you find out?" he asked horrified. Staring at him, eyes impossibly wide, the color slowly draining from his face. His thoughts raced as he tried to process this new information.

#All this time and he said nothing! Not that he could. It was a waiting game to him. Seeing if I would go through with it. And I could honestly say to myself that I don't know if I could or would follow through. It depended on what else was happening. What the stakes were, because as important as this is to me, the big picture wins. Because I'm not worth it. Not against the freedom of the colonies.#

Treize moved to hug him again, hurt when Duo jerked away for a second time. "I found out soon after you left me the first time. I had an allergic reaction to it. Une found me that morning throwing up anything I had ever eaten. I couldn't figure out what was wrong with me until later. And by then I had flushed it out of my system. The next time you visited me I didn't want to bring it up. Telling you would have put more pressure on you."

"I..." Duo shuddered, hugging himself "Sorry doesn't cut it does it. Neither does the phrase ëfollowing orders' .

"Duo..." Treize started and sighed. "My eloquence has deserted me on this. I can't tell you that everything will be all right. You've realized that the good guys and the bad guys have become a blurred line. After all this time in the war, I don't think that anyone knows any more."

"Do you consider me the good guy or the bad guy?" Duo asked in a small voice.

"One of the white hats. You've tried to do your best with an impossible situation." Treize smiled down at him. "And I just realized that you weren' t really the spy, you were the decoy."

"T-chan it took you this long to figure that out!" Duo exclaimed, torn between amusement and dismay. "I thought it was obvious. Which is why you were letting this go on as long as you did. Lady Une certainly keyed onto it right away."

"Well it was too obvious. No one is that unsubtle." Treize protested. #How long has my faithful Lady Une known that? And has she managed to find the other one? Beside the third that she's going to rip into shreds for taping me in bed.#

"A subtle thought had never passed through these guy's brains before. Trust me." Duo assured him.

"But how did they manage to organize themselves and launch your operation." Treize asked.

"God T-chan, look what they are working with. A bunch of kids that shouldn't be let out with either a hell of a lot of supervision or more meds then you can shake a junkie at. Well, except Quatre, but the rest of us are a mess and he's heading towards the loony bin real fast if something doesn't break soon. ëSides I was a last minute addition, they found me hiding in the ship and decided to train me rather then space me. I wonder if they made the right decision at times." Duo argued. "I can't believe I told you that... I gotta change the subject." he muttered hitting himself on the head.

Treize grabbed his hand and held it. He drew Duo into his arms, thankful that he was distracted enough to let him. He held him gently, not speaking, waiting for Duo to break the silence. After a few moments, he raised his head and looked Treize in the eyes.

"You said back in your apartment that you want to wake up with me for the rest of your life?" he asked, wistfully. "I'm a street rat, that you only met because his superiors threw him at you like a party treat. Why?"

Treize looked back, realizing how emotionally naked Duo was. He hadn't seen him so vulnerable before, anyone that vulnerable in his life. He was afraid to answer him, knowing that it could make or break their relationship.

"I never thought of you as a party treat." he started slowly, trying to convey the depth of his feeling for this quicksilver being in his arms, it was hard. Duo seemed too hurt to really understand how much he loved him. "You were a breath of fresh air in my world. A mystery that I wanted to unravel. You then showed me that no matter how big the picture was that I was looking at, all those pieces that made up the whole were human beings that had dreams and hopes and wishes. That for all my posturing and grand speeches, there was someone out there who didn't care about all that, but was willing to bleed and sweat and die, so that someone else didn't have to. And you had no hidden motives, no secret agenda, you were the one person that has never lied to me. You didn't tell me everything, but you didn't lie. I know that I wouldn't have met you, except for my position in OZ, but you separated Treize Khushrendra and T-chan out. You are about the one person in my life that I don't have to play some power game with, and I love you for that. You understand the politics of what is going on and you don't care. There are a thousand little things about you that made me fall in love with you, I can't list them all."

"Stay with me, Duo. I know you don't want to think about the future, but I would like one with you." Treize pleaded.

"I'll stay. And I want a future with you too." Duo mumbled, burying his face in his chest.

"Then let's get some rest. And out of this water before we both freeze to death. This was not one of my smartest moves. I packed some supplies and we can camp out here for a few days, work things out, trying to out think those bastards. And then we can go back to the world."

"I know" Duo sighed. "Why don't you hate me for what I am doing to your troops?"

"Because it's a war." Treize answered, seriously, "And if you weren't faster and smarter then them, you'd be the one that they killed. I wouldn't hate them for that, but I would hate your death."

"Now that we've depressed ourselves, lets see how good a condition the cabin is in." Duo said wandering over to the car.

Treize enjoyed the view of a naked, wet Duo bent over the back seat of the car, getting the supplies and his pack out. He smiled and went to help him, pausing to run a hand down his back and enjoying the chuckle that he received at his actions.

"You know that the water is really cold when I'm warmer out of it." Treize commented ruefully.

"Stupid question Treize, you do have the keys to this place or do I have to break in" Duo asked.

"Break in." Treize answered with a smile, "I always wanted to see you in action."

"Months of hot, sweaty sex wasn't enough action for you?" Duo asked as he wandered up to the door and tested the lock.

"A different sort of action, one that doesn't leave my mind out wandering in the universe when we're done." Treize replied, glad that a nap had restored some of the life to Duo's voice. He still wasn't the carefree imp that had climbed into his bed months ago, but he hoped that they could work on that.

"What's a matter T-chan?" Duo snickered, "Not allowed to wander out on its own?"

"Too small." Treize joked back.

"Small will never describe you," Dou leered back, running his tongue over his lips.

"Flattery will get you every where, my sweet, but I want to get into the cabin before that."

"Give me a minute..." Duo answered, getting his lock picks out of his hair. He started fooling around with the lock, glad that the moon was close to full so he could see what he was doing. The lock was a little stiff from disuse, which why it took him as long as it did.

"I was wondering where you hid those things." Treize observed idly. #Would Duo ever unlearn those early lessons. Would he live long enough to sleep without a gun under his pillow or jumping at any strange noise?#

"Where did you think?" Duo asked.

"Didn't think of it, I know that I felt them once in while, but I didn't dwell on it."

"Don't leave the house without them most of the time." Duo called back, entering the cabin, trying not to trip over things.

It smelled closed up, but didn't smell like something had been living there, so he was happy. Grumpy animals were not his thing, they were Trowa's. He found a lamp and was happy to hear that it had a little fuel in it when he shook it. He found matches after a few gropes and managed to light it. As the lantern flared, he found himself in a large room, the size of the entire cabin with a small loft over head.

ëIt's okay Treize, nothing in here and I got a light going. Hope that there is more fuel around here." he said.

"Should be, it wouldn't have dried up, if top was screwed on tight. And no one seems to have broken in here." Treize said.

"How do you know this place?" Duo asked, his curiosity stirred. Treize out in the woods was something that he would never believe. He was a city boy, like Duo and roughing to him Duo would have sworn was not having a four star hotel to stay at.

"I found it a few weeks before we got together. I got very lost driving around here. I made sure that I'd remember where it was in case there was someplace that I wanted to hide out."

"You afraid that we are going to win and you are going to need someplace to hide out. I'll remember that if I have to look for you." Duo teased him.

"I was thinking of hiding from my responsibilities. But I will hold you to that," Treize replied seriously. #Thinking about the future, there's some hope yet.# He thought hopefully, but Duo's next words crashed that.

"Like I'm going to survive this mess. I might not want to, if I keep get these assignments." Duo sighed.

"That bad?" Treize asked quietly, hugging him. Duo leaned into it and sighed, not answering for a minute.

"Yeah, I'm their favorite little toy right now. But I'm not complainin' about it any ëcause Quatre or Wufei might get them. In fact, I'm sure of it cause I grumbled once and got that as an answer. And I got to choose which one. So I keep my mouth shut and just accept my orders. I've started sleeping in Shinigami again, cause I'm havin' more nightmares and I don't want to wake the others. I've started running from my friends and it sucks. But I turn on the charm when I'm with them, so they don't know that anything is wrong and it gettin' harder to do."

"Well, I think that you're just charming the way that you are, so don't worry about acting around me. That those idiots insist on burning you out as punishment for your surviving the streets, makes me just want to kill them all the more." Treize said quietly, as Duo buried his head into his chest and started to shake. Treize was fairly sure that's as close as tears he was going to get. Duo had been very drugged out the last time to get him to breakdown as completely as he did.

"Just make me forget when I'm with you and I'll be happy." Duo whispered. "I want to forget all the blood and death."

"That's all I want to do, Duo. I want keep you safe, spoil you silly and let you have a future. I know that is an impossible dream at times, but I want to give it to you." Treize whispered back, slowly stroking his back, letting Duo try and find comfort in his arms.

They stood like that for a while, until Duo stepped back, raking his bangs out of his face. "We should throw down a sleeping bag at least. And I've got to brush out this mess or we are going to spend all day tomorrow doing it."

"There are worse ways of spending the time." Treize replied, running his hands through it. It was amazing that Duo managed to care for it. He must have been growing it for years, almost since he was born. That he had managed to keep it through everything that had happened to him was a miracle. He wondered if Duo would ever tell him why he had grown it this long.

"I can think of better things to do." Duo said, leaning up to give him a kiss.

"I think that all you want me for is sex." Treize complained. "I resent that. I have a brain, you know."

Duo chuckled. T-chan was so cute at times. Too bad the rest of the world didn't see this side of him. And had as much as a one track mind as he had, but he did have a point. "I was thinking about a swim or a walk. You know, the things that normal couples do."

"Do you have anything else to wear besides that outfit? I don't want to get arrested." Treize asked #Do you even realize you said that Duo? Couple. Not anything else. And it does sound so nice coming from you.#

"How stupid do you think I am T-chan? If I had gotten caught in that by anyone else besides you or Une , I wouldn't have made it past the barracks. I changed in you room, thank god you like long showers."

"A walk in the morning then, after we figure out what we need from town. If we need anything. Closest thing to a store is about five miles away. We can pick up anything that I forgot there."

"Either me or you, but not together. We stick out too much. You got to take lessons on sneaking, T-chan. Around here two guys together stick out, since we aren't local and don't look like we're up here for the fishing or whatever people do around here. I might in the dark pass for a girl, if I don't open my mouth. And your car is fancy enough to stick out."

"I bow to the wisdom of the professional terrorist." Treize replied, bowing to Duo.

He laughed and shook his head. "That's Heero, I'm just a good thief."

Treize laughed at the look on his face when he realized the mistake that he made. "Don't worry, I have enough information on all of your compatriots. You aren't telling me anything I don't know. You are about the only blank I have. Lady Une couldn't find anything on you."

"Really?" Duo asked in relief. "That's the hardest part, watching what I have to say so that I don't mention them. They are a great bunch of guys in their own way, Quatre especially. He doesn't deserve to be doing this."

"You don't deserve this, Duo." Treize pointed out gently as Duo started to unroll the sleeping bag he brought in. "You manage to keep cheerful in the face of all the trouble that those people are giving you. Starting with them tossing you at me. I don't care if you reluctantly volunteered so that the others didn't have to, it was dirty tactics that they even thought of it."

Duo grabbed his brush from his pack and attacked his drying hair. "You want to know the trick to me surviving as long as I have, T-chan? It's that the past is over, the future hasn't happened yet and now is the only thing that matters. And I squeeze everything that I can out of now to keep me happy. That's how I survive."

They were both quiet for a few minutes, Duo concentrating on working out a particularly nasty tangle in his hair and T-chan just watching him. Treize grabbed the brush from Duo and started working on his hair, enjoying the process of detangling his hair and then just brushing it dry. Duo sighed and leaned back, practically falling asleep on him he was so relaxed. He didn't fight it when T-chan pushed him down on the sleeping bag and curled up. Treize blew out the lamp and curled up next to him, happy that Duo snuggled up against him in his sleep.

Treize was woken up to Duo nuzzling his chest. He was making little murmuring noises and smiling. Treize hugged him gently and kissed the top of his head. Duo nuzzled some more before slowly waking up. Treize enjoyed seeing him blink the sleep out of his eyes. They were so soft and vulnerable when he was doing that. He managed to look younger then he really was.

"Good morning, Duo" Treize said, giving him a good morning kiss. Duo returned it enthusiastically.

"Don't expect much, my sweet," Treize said and winced when he stretched out. Sleeping on the floor was painful. "Why don't you feel like you've been through the wringer?"

"'Cause I've been sleeping in Shinigami. That's cramped quarters. Only advantage that I have is that I'm small. I think that's why we're all so compact. We wouldn't fit otherwise if we had to be in ours for a long time. You don't have that problem with the Leos and the Aries. And Tallgeese is just a wildcard in the deck. I think that if I had to pilot that, I'd need a map of the cockpit." Duo replied.

"Nope, I just think that the bunch that recruited the lot of you are a bunch of perverts that like young boys. And the lot of you are attractive enough to make the authorities overlook any irregularities that might crop up. Youth and an innocent face do go a long way."

"Could be, it always served me in the past. But now we got to check out what we have here. I want to see in the water's running, if it isn't, that might be a problem. I don't care about electricity if we have enough fuel, but water is a must." Duo said getting up.

Treize sat up slowly, wincing as each new part of his body protested that he hadn't slept in his own bed last night. The cracking of Duo's spine told Treize that while he may be used to such odd conditions, his body didn't like them much either. He felt better at that and checked out the place in the daylight.

It was a small cabin. One large room that had a very ancient stove, sink and refrigerator in the corner with a battered table and a few cabinets. In the opposite corner were an old sofa and a few bookcases. Duo had checked out the loft above the room and was hanging over the edge waving.

"A comfy bed up here and that's about it. Nothing in the way of closets and I haven't check out the bureaus yet. The bed seems in good shape and I think that the mattress is a feather one. Aside for dust, there's nothing wrong up here. I'm opening a few windows and airin' it out. Then I'm seein' if I can find stuff for the bed."

Treize had to smile at his excited tone. He sounded like a kid at Christmas time. Treize thought that he should explore down here. He checked out the two doors that were on either side of the ladder to the loft. The way that he was feeling, he hoped that one of them was a downstairs bedroom, but a large featherbed would make the climb worth it. The first door led to a large closet, that in a pinch might be a small bedroom, if one didn't expect anything besides a bed in there.

The other door led to a huge bathroom. Treize was impressed with the facilities. They were about twenty years out of fashion, but he wouldn't argue about it. Just so that they worked would be a good thing. The tub was impressive even by his standards and the separate shower and toilet areas were a nice touch. He had obviously stumbled across a rich family's vacation hideaway. Duo had climbed down and came in behind him. Treize was amused by the look of wonder in his eyes as he stared at the tub.

"I want to get that to work! Think of the bubble baths T-chan. We could have an orgy in here!" Duo exclaimed excitedly.

"What is it with you and water? It's a tie to see what you like more showers or food?" Treize asked. He was happy to have a bouncy Duo. He was going to milk this for all it was worth before he had go back. The shadows hadn't left Duo's eyes completely, but they were faint. Treize didn't think that they would completely leave until long after this war was over.

"If you're good I'll tell you some time." Duo replied offhandedly, more interested in trying to find out how to get the water to work. He traced the line and frowned that he had to go outside. He really didn't want to go outside yet, but water was important.

"I hope that I can find some tools and that this place was on well water, instead of the city. But I bettin' on well water cause we are so far from anyplace. Just let me get dressed and I'll start pokin' around outside."

"Okay, are you sure that you can get this going?" Treize asked.

"It shouldn't be too hard, I've had to do this a couple of times before. Just have to find the water input and poke around. I'm hoping for self contained power unit too, they didn't skimp on stuff when they furnished this place. The sheets are SILK if you can believe that. I just wonder why no one has been using it."

"A lot of people have been affected by this war. They may have stopped using because they all died or the children are gone and they don't want to be reminded of the good times that they had here. Or they may have immigrated to the colonies It could be any number of things, but I'm taking advantage of the fact that no one is here and we are." Treize replied, hugging Duo.

"Just let me get the water going and I will make breakfast. If you're hungry I've got a few snacks in my pack, nothing fancy, just something to munch on. But I'm going to be fooling around outside for a little while, so could you check things out by looking though the bookcase and the kitchen, see if you can get a hint of who owned this place while I'm outside."

"Why?"

"Just curious. I like knowing these things. I usually write a thank you note after we're though with someplace. It's weird I know, but I do try to have some manners." Duo said throwing his clothes on. He braided back his hair quickly and gave Treize a kiss "I'm moving the car so it's in back of the cabin, that way if the local cops are driving by, they aren't going to see it. The sheriff hauling us in for trespassing would be a very bad thing. That would definitely be a no-no."

Treize moved to pull on some clothes himself and let Duo putter around the outside of the cabin. He heard snatches of singing while Duo was trying to get things up and running. He was busy himself trying make the place habitable for the short time that they were going to be there. He cleaned out the cabinets of out of date cans and jars and was happy to see that the refrigerator was empty of anything. He tackled the bookcases next, and besides finding out that the owners had the habit of hiding money in between the pages of their books and that they apparently didn't read anything more then the best seller's list, nothing. No names or hints of who owned it. He was about to start searching the sofa when Duo came back in.

"Any luck T-chan?" he asked, giving him a hug. "I got the water going and the power, it was a simple shut off switch. Just had to get some of the rust off. I found that there is a garage underneath this place and parked the car down there. A casual drive by won't detect us. If they even bother with that stuff. This place looks deserted. The furnace and the water heater are down there and I turned on the water heater, should be warm in about a half hour or so."

"No information, not even pictures. There is just a bunch of books, nothing that stands out there and I found about hundred dollars hidden in the books. Everything that I found is around A C 185. I made the bed and I think I can scrape up something for lunch considering it's about noon." Treize said, hugging Duo back. "After that we can go for a swim, but it's getting cold out which is about right since it's winter here and the warmth of the last few days was unusual. I can't believe that you went in last nigh t, you must have been freezing. So a bath would be better to clean us up and then we can try and figure something out."

"I've been thinking about that." Duo said thoughtfully. "More music and we don't do anything that we wouldn't do in public in the bedroom. Just enough hints that something's happening. Just pretend that you've suddenly have gotten a yen for doin' it in odd places like the kitchen, the bathroom, your office. Hell I'm for recording odd noises and playing it back if that means that it will get them off our back."

"God, Duo I don't care if they record us during sex, its afterwards that bothers me. I like our discussions and that I resent that they are recording those. I don't care about that other stuff." Treize retorted. "I haven't had a private moment since I've been at the Academy it seems. Less so since OZ overthrew the Federation."

"I mind it too, T-chan." Duo said sadly. "I spent a year under their thumb training. Privacy was nonexistent. It was a blessing too in a way, because no one could get me into a dark corner. It was nice when I finally got some alone time."

"That bad?"

"Well, there weren't to many female types around and I think I was the cutest thing on board. Even guys that didn't swing that way were eyein' me after a while."

"We'll go with this plan for now. Something better has to come up, I just can't think off it." Treize said, moving into the kitchen. Sandwiches sound good?"

"Excellent. I'm starting to get hungry. Then a shower and do you wanna check out the mattress? I've never done it on a feather mattress." Duo looked at Treize with begging puppy eyes.

"Duo you are incorrigible. Do you think about anything besides sex?" Treize asked laughingly.

"No it's just that the only time that I get to see you is for sex. And you are just so cuddly afterwards." Duo smiled winningly and fluttered his eyelashes. "Besides I know that they aren't recording us here, so I gonna enjoy it while I can."

"I give in. Besides I can't think of anything better to do, I don't want to share you with anyone." Treize admitted. "So lunch, a shower and then bed, we didn't get much sleep last night."

"Then we better get out of here, because I don't want anyone else to find this place. I want just the two of us to know about this." Duo said. "I know that don't they expect me back for a while, but we might as well do one performance for them and then I better split. The guys do on occasion expect me to spend some time with them, even if they really don't pay any attention to me."

Treize sighed happily and cuddled Duo closer. It had been interesting on a feather mattress. It was like sinking into Duo when they were making love, warm and engulfing. While Duo usually responded with an enthusiasm that was unparalleled, he had been tender, caring and yielding . Something had changed in him with their discussion last night and Duo admitting that he wanted a future with him. Treize didn't know if he liked this new maturity in him, but it was special.

Duo sighed and snuggled back. "I don't want to move. Can we stay here forever?"

"We are going to have to move eventually, if it's only to eat. Or Une's going to track us down and find two skeletons. She might be a bit annoyed at that." Treize replied, idly playing with Duo's hair.

"I'll be dead, what can she do to me?" Duo teased back.

"She'll make sure that you don't get buried with your pride and joy, this hair" Treize replied, burying his face in it. He adored the smell and the feel of his hair. There was something just so Duoish about it.

"She can try, she's gonna hafta deal with someone more powerful then her if she does that." Duo said, starting to drop off to sleep.

"Who's that?" Treize asked. #A clue, something that you're willing to tell me? A glimpse into your past that you never told me about?#

"Mmm...I should tell you, they way things are going I want someone to know. I never told anyone else." Duo said, waking up a little. "I want someone to remember if I don't make it through this."

"What do you want to tell me, Duo?" Treize asked, not bothering to contradict him. Duo was being realistic, as much as it tore at his heart and made him want to assure the boy that they would both survive. If he kept doing assassinations, he was going to get caught sooner or later and that would be it. Or it was going to get to him eventually and he was going to put a bullet in his brain. Either option left him dead at before the end of the war.

"T-chan, I don't even remember my parents. I was about three when they were killed in some stupid Federation battle. Most of the neighborhood was destroyed. I was found by another kid that was only a couple of years older then me. His name was Solo. We ran together for a couple of years, we eventually got a gang of kids together, after we had moved to one of the other colonies. We had stowed away on one of the freighters that were moving around the L2 cluster. We were doin' pretty good until the plague went through. Solo died in my arms. It was then that I finally got name, Duo. I lost about half the gang before I managed to steal the inoculation that could cure us. The Feds weren't going to waste it on a bunch of lowlifes like us."

Duo's tone was bitter. Treize tightened his arms around him, waiting for him to continue with his story. He didn't want to break the fragile spell that was happening here. He didn't think that he would get another chance to hear this.

"Solo told me that I was in charge, before he died. That was about the only thing that kept me going. I had to keep things together. It was a little nasty at times, but if I was doin' it with the Johns, the little ones weren' t with them. You'd laugh, but I was only about seven or eight at the time, I wasn't much older then they were. Start of my illustrious career on the streets. I learned real early that in nothing in life was free."

ëOh God, Duo.' Treize thought, kissing him gently. #You should have been playing with the other kids, not turning tricks or stealing to survive. You never had a childhood.#

"It was a couple of months later that we all got picked up. Not by the Feds, hell some of them were my best customers. But by Father Maxwell and Sister Helen. They tried to find homes for all of us, but no one wanted me for more then a night or two, I couldn't get along with them or the other kids if they were some. They either wanted to cut my hair, I'd been growing it for a while so I wasn't going to do that, it was they only thing that they couldn' t take away from me. Or they didn't like the look in my eyes. I'd been in charge and out on my own too long. I wasn't a good kid anymore. It disturbed them. I was something that they couldn't deal with, a fact of life that they didn't want to know about. After a while Sister Helen and Father Maxwell let me stay with them. I got real good matching up kids with parents. Charming the parents out of donations too.

I stayed with them about four years. Sister Helen taught me to braid my hair back. It was mess and since we were on water rations I didn't get to bath too often, just when it rained or snowed. I got some education, they sent me to a Fed school. Sister Helen tried to teach me about the ballet, the Opera, the arts. I think she came from a real good family. And she was willing to put up with a stinking, stubborn street rat. She took real good care of my hair when she could. It was special to her. I guess hers had been long before she became a nun.

It all went to Hell when I was about twelve. Father Maxwell didn't want to get involved between the Feds and the rebels, but they both wanted me. I was really good at jacking suits, I'd been doing it for a long time. I could fix almost anything too. I swear I kept the generator at the orphanage going long after the blasted thing should have died, but we never could get enough to replace it. The Feds wanted me, cause I was good at fixin' things and the rebels wanted me for the same reason. They didn't trust Father Maxwell's neutrality, I was supposed to be a hostage for that I think. It didn't matter. I went off to get a suit for the rebels to get them off our back and the Feds decided to bomb the place out of existence. Of the 245 people that were there, kids, nuns and rebels, the Feds killed them all. I came back just in time to see Sister Helen die. I was happy that they had only shot her, ëcause she was really pretty. The authorities nearly nabbed me because I wouldn't let her go. That was the last time that I cried, until that night with you. Not that I had cried a lot before that. I took my last name so that someone would remember him. They used to call me Maxwell's little demon. He always insisted that I was his little angel. Funny, huh? I think that he'd be a little disappointed on how I turned out.

I disappeared back into the streets after that. It only took a couple days for me to hook up with another gang. I worked my way up to second boss. Not that I was that ambitious, but I could take care of the little ones better that way. There was a little more protection for them that way. I got caught by the Feds a few times but I knew how to get out of their clutches, you can guess how.

After a few years of that I split. I didn't want deal with things any more. I thought that I could get a better start on another colony. I stowed away on one of the Sweepers barges to get out of there. The doc caught me and it was touch and go for a while whether they would space me or train me. I still don't know why they chose me. I lost a couple of days with them, I think that I'm glad that I can't remember them. The only thing, I think, that saved me was good reflexes.

After training they sent me to Earth for Operation Meteor. And you know the rest. Doc either got me to spill my guts on what I'd been doing or I told him under some weird drug, ëcause no way in hell I'd of voluntarily told him that I was turning tricks. He always struck me as the slimly type that had to pay for it, but I don't ever remember running into him. I didn't know that he had found out until he got mad at me for turning him down. And he threw what I had been doing back in my face. Then he decided that since I wouldn't play with him, he'd hand me off to you. And I keep getting every nasty assignment they can give me. I don't think that I'm going to last too long this way and I want someone to remember." Duo fell silent, waiting for Treize's reaction.

"Thank you, Duo." he said, stroking his hair gently. Duo looked up at the odd tone in his voice. He was surprised to see a tears running down his face.

"Oh T-chan." Duo started, moving up to kiss his tears. "Don't cry, that's the past, It's over, I just want someone to know that I existed outside of being a Gundam pilot. You're about the only one that I wanted to tell. I'm sorry that it made you sad."

"Duo, you just gave me the greatest gift. I am overwhelmed that you trust me this much."

"I wouldn't have stuck around this long if I didn't. Just remember that I was once an innocent little kid once. That I wasn't born with a gun in one hand and the self destruct in the other. Maybe after I wash all the blood off, I might be able to find something that resembles that innocence."

"You may not be innocent anymore Duo, but you have a caring heart that few people are willing to have. Get some rest Duo, I'll wake you in a little while and we'll get back before they come looking for us."


	2. Part 2

Interlude Part V

Duo leaned back making a contented noise. "Doesn't get much better then this, T-chan" he sighed, nuzzling Treize on his neck. "A roaring fire and champagne. You do know how to spoil a boy."

"You deserve it." Treize replied, slowly nibbling his way down Duo's body. They were both lying in front of a roaring fire in Treize's study. They had both decided that an audience wasn't something that they wanted to put up with, so they decided to spend the night out here. Duo had shown up prompting Treize to build a fire and ignore his duties. He would much rather feed strawberries and champagne to Duo then do reports. It had taken very little coaxing to get the boy naked and curled up on the rug. Treize started to feed him strawberries, popping them into his mouth, between kisses and sips of champagne. Both were of them slightly tipsy and it was getting harder to ignore their desire. Duo had started to glow with the amount of alcohol that he had imbibed and was getting a mischievous look on his face. He was randomly giggling and having a hard time finding Treize's mouth to feed him strawberries. After a while he gave up, lying back on the rug and making kissing noises at Treize.

"See, see, see" he complained, stabbing a finger at Treize. "I'm gettin' too silly for words. Good thing that you got to know me before this happened. You might think that I'm an idiot."

"I would never think that you are an idiot, Duo," Treize murmured at him, teasing his lips with a strawberry. Duo giggled some more as Treize played with him, not letting Duo get a bite before stroking it over his lips or nose or nipples or any of the hundreds of ticklish places Duo seemed to have sprouted with drinking the champagne. Treize was sorry when he ran out of strawberries, was contemplating what else he had in his cupboard to feed Duo, just to keep that look on his face.

"T-chan, what's wrong?" Duo asked in slurred voice.

"I am regretting the fact that we've run out of strawberries and there is nothing else in my cupboard, freezer or refrigerator to feed you, that goes with champagne."

"Told you that you should keep more stuff on hand." Duo teased him.

"I'm just going to have to make do with the champagne," Treize said regretfully. "Have I informed you that it isn't as sweet as your skin? Or that the strawberries pale in comparison to the taste of your lips?"

Duo stopped giggling and leaned up to capture Treize's mouth in a fierce kiss. "Nothing in the Universe compares to you, T-chan." he said simply and breathlessly. "I wish that I could compare you to a summer's day and all that but all I can say is that you are priceless to me. You have given me back things that no one else could have."

Treize, buried his head in Duo's chest, moved to speechlessness by Duo's simple declaration. In the past friends and lovers had traded quick-witted quips about love and the depth of their feelings. Duo made that all fade into nothingness with his simple words, because Treize knew how much they had cost him and how much he had relaxed the guard around his heart so that it could happen.

Treize leaned down and started tickling and kissing his way down Duo's body, enjoying the noises that he wrung from him, not letting Duo kiss back, slowly tormenting him. He frowned slightly when he realized how prominent the hip bone that he was nibbling on was. Treize, put that worry aside, concentrating on making Duo moan. He could always scold him about his eating habits later.

Duo shifted underneath him, becoming aggressive again to have his mouth start it's own exploration of Treize's body. Treize forgot to think as Duo managed to find every sensitive spot on his body, with his mouth and hands. He thought that he was going to explode before Duo at last stopped teasing him and allowed Treize to enter his body slowly, whimpering as each inch filled him.

"Ah T-chan," he moaned, "You do know how to make me forget..."

Treize started to gently rock at that, enjoying the small gasps that his movements caused. As his rocking turned into gentle thrusts, he leaned down to kiss Duo, enjoying the broken words and sounds of pleasure that were coming out of his partner. He managed to hold off his own climax until Duo started to spasm uncontrollably beneath him, spraying both of them. He came a few moments later, enjoying the sight of a very dazed Duo underneath him. He rolled to the side, to avoid crushing his partner beneath him. With the amount of weight that he noticed the boy had lost, Duo looked more feyish then ever.

"If I could make you eat, I would be happier" Treize sighed. "You weren't too heavy to begin with, you're all skin and bones now. I swear you've dropped kilos since we've started our affaire d'amour. How are you going to overthrow my evil, oppressive government if you don't eat?" He punctured his words with kisses, enjoying the small contented sounds that Duo was making.

"You forgot hair, T-chan" was Duo's sleepily reply next to him as he curled around the other man, spreading it over the two of them like a blanket. #T-chan, you are a romantic at heart. And I think that you didn't just capture my heart, but my soul with your kindness.#

"And what glorious hair it is my sweet, but I wish that there was more of you to hold it up." he purred, kissing Duo gently. #Not that I don't like what I see, you've gotten some life back into you, but at the cost of something else. You're too fragile. One good hit in Shinigami and you're going break.#

"Me too, I want a growth spurt like you dream about." Duo murmured. #To be able to look at an adult straight in the eye would be a dream come true.#

"Eating is needed for that" Treize scolded. "When I was your age, I inhaled food. You don't seem to eat anymore" #And when I was your age I was in the Academy. I wasn't a terrorist on the run half the time. Is it nerves or something else that is making you fade away. Are you ghosts robbing you of food as well as sleep? All you need is wings and you'd look like one of the fairies from ëA Midsummer's Night Dream.'#

"..." was the only reply that he got, as Duo slipped into sleep next to him. Treize dozed, holding Duo, enjoying the feel of the other in his arms. He wondered if Duo would ever believe him if he told him that it was the quiet times like these that he treasured with Duo.

Treize chuckled at the expression he imagined on his face, he would be torn between wonder and cynicism. Wonder that anyone would think that cuddling out weighed sex and cynical that someone actually wanted to cuddle him. Duo still didn't believe that he deserved to be loved. Duo murmured and stirred at this sound, but fell back to sleep when Treize stroked his back. Treize frowned when he felt how prominent Duo's ribs and spine were. The boy was wasting away to nothing. He definitely was going to start insisting that he eat more. He thought he knew why Duo wasn't eating, but he was still going to scold him. For a person that admitted he adored any kind of food, not eating was a bad sign. And it might be getting very bad if food was something that Duo wasn't enjoying any more.

Both of them were jerked back to awareness by the sound of quiet footsteps in the office.

"Une?" Duo mouthed, blinking the sleep out of his eyes, his adrenal glands kicking him awake. And she wouldn't have barged in unless it was an emergency, and she would have called first. He couldn't think of anyone else that would walk into T-chan's private rooms without being summoned. Not even those creeps from the Romafeller Foundation. This might be very bad.

Treize shook his head no. Duo stood to reach for his gun, when the door to the study swung open and Wufei entered the room.

"Treize Khushrenada I challenge...." Wufei's voice trailed off when he saw the state that his enemy was in. And who he was with.

"Maxwell! What are you doing here?" he exclaimed, starting to blush at the state of undress of the other two. #Gods,# Wufei thought, #I've never seen your hair down, I didn't realize that there was that much of it! Or how beautiful you actually are.#

"Tell me why I shouldn't kill you?" he growled, his embarrassment turning into anger. #I knew that you were an idiot Maxwell, but sleeping with the enemy General? Were you ever loyal to the colonies? #

Duo just stared at him. Treize stopped eyeing Wufei long enough to turn to see how his lover was reacting to being found out by his fellow pilot. He was alarmed to see all the color drain from Duo's face, as he just stared at Wufei. Treize barely had time to catch him before Duo collapsed into a heap. Treize ignored Wufei as he carried Duo to the couch and pulled an afghan over him. He started rubbing his hands, worried at how cold the boy felt. He didn't feel that cold a minute ago.

"Wufei I am not ignoring you, but I feel that this requires my attention more. Also you're not going to stab me in the back" Treize called over his shoulder distractedly.

"How long?" was all Wufei said, before sitting down and sheathing his sword. #Fainting is not what I expected out of Maxwell as a reaction, what is going on? #

There very little else that he could do. He was dependent on Khushendra's good graces not to call his guards. Not that he had to worry about that really, explaining Duo might be a problem for the man. If he was actually trying to keep this affair or whatever it was he had stumbled upon, a secret from his staff.

"You can discuss that later. Right now I more worried about his collapse. He hasn't been eating lately has he?" Treize asked.

"I haven't noticed." Wufei replied stiffly. His tone softened, "I really haven't been paying attention. He shows up for meals, he looks like he's eating, but it could be like his fighting style, all illusion and misdirection. He's a really good actor if this affair has been going on for a while and we didn't know about it. Quatre's been worried, but..." his voice trailed off as he shrugged. "Quatre worries." #Quatre should if this is one of the things that had been keeping him occupied over the last months. Maxwell never had been around much, and no one really is close to him. The fact that he is the fifth wheel doesn't help. We just thought that he wasn' t interested.#

"A result of so many sisters, probably." Treize replied absentmindedly, happy to see Duo's eyelashes flutter. He had never seen Duo so pale, no matter how many times he had shown up injured in his bedroom.

"How did you...?" Wufei asked, slightly stunned. #What has Maxwell told him? Can I kill the both of them now? It wouldn't be honorable, but it would be safer.#

"Wufei, with the exception of Duo and Trowa, I probably have enough information on you all to tell when you started to walk. And what you had for breakfast yesterday. And none of it was supplied by Duo" Treize replied, seeing the train of thought that Wufei was contemplating. It wasn't hard, but he didn't want to have to hurt the other pilot if his sense of self preservation outweighed his sense of justice. Thankfully Wufei was willing to get some answers before he killed them.

"Ah" was Wufei's only comment as he started to see Duo stir and moan, then sit up. He blinked his eyes, looking at Wufei. #I can wait. It's not like they are going anywhere. And if I was in danger, Treize would be calling his staff, not hovering over Maxwell.#

"I guess the jig is up T-chan?" Duo asked softly, starting to shiver. "All of a sudden it's cold in here."

He folded in on himself, wrapping the afghan around him. Treize started to rub his body though it, his eyes dark with worry.

"You're in shock." Wufei observed. #T-chan, General Khushenada allows Duo to call him T-chan? How long has this been going on?# was the thought that was going through his mind.

"Oh. Wufei, whatcha going to do with me?" Duo asked, looking at his fellow pilot with huge eyes. He couldn't think. They had finally been found out, Une didn't count in his mind. That had been like you sister catching you, not someone who thought that you were supposed to be some place else tonight. The cat was out of the bag, the game is a foot and a dozen of other stupid similes that popped into his mind. What passed as thought soon turned into the buzz of white noise. All he could do was gape at Wufei and react to whatever he threw at him.

Wufei could see why Treize was worried about Duo. His eyes dominated his face and Wufei noticed for the first time how stretched the skin seemed over his bones. Duo was starting to look translucent. And he just wondered how long that problem had been going on, because he had thought that was Duo's normal look. He had never been too heavy, but now Duo looked like he was skeletal.

"After you pull yourself together, I am taking you back to our safe house and we will discuss things from there. Or I can administer justice to you here, but I assume that the general will object to that?"

"Damn right!" Treize growled, glaring at Wufei. #I will kill you, honor or not because if you think that I will let you harm him, you are mistaken.#

"T-chan, he has every right to kill me, we are supposed to be tryin' to kill each other not kissing each other" Duo protested, freeing one arm to hug Treize and try and stop him from killing Wufei. #T-chan, you do not want an enraged Heero Yui on your ass. And he would kill you, because that would be the last straw after New Edwards.# was Duo's quick thought before, finishing his sentence. "Wufei, under my pile of clothes is my gun. Take it. I'll go back with you peacefully. I just want to take a shower. And don't panic when I grab my clothes. I'll kick the gun over to the side."

"I'll let you do that, so long as you promise you won't do anything stupid in there." Wufei said soberly, worried that he was going to top this stupidity with something worse.

"I promise." Duo said. "Why are you going to believe me though?"

"Because, you never really lied about your activities, you just never stayed around or shut up long enough for us to ask you about them. Not that we really paid attention to you, you were good at disappearing at the right time." Wufei said seriously. "And you better start you shower now, it's a long ride back."

"Okay, Wufei" Duo said meekly, standing up to shuffle to the bathroom, grabbing his clothes on the way by. Treize followed him with worried eyes, barely restraining himself from helping Duo into the bathroom when he saw how shaky he was.

Wufei retrieved Duo's gun and stuck it in his pants. He was relieved when Treize pulled on a pair of pants and sat down opposite him.

"Would you like something to drink while you're waiting for Duo?" Treize offered.

"No thank you." Wufei replied eyeing the champagne bottle.

"No, no not that," Treize protested, " you have to drive. I have juice and tonic if you want some."

"Juice would be good" Wufei said, feeling that he should respond to Treize's kindness. #The perfect host, even the person that was dragging his lover off to what might be his death.# Wufei thought sarcastically.

He felt like he had woken from a very strange dream, given the surrealistic air this encounter had taken on. By this time he thought that he would have either beaten Treize or have been beaten by him in their sword fight. He never thought that he would be bringing Duo back to their safe house to be judged by the rest of the pilots.

Wufei noticed that Treize wasn't as calm as he appeared by the slight tremors in the other man's hands as he handed him his glass.

"You're worried about him?" Wufei asked in astonishment. Then mentally kicked himself. This had been going on for a while if Duo was acting as familiar as he did with Kushrendra. There was an ease between the two of them that spoke of a long time relationship. And affection, he couldn't think of anyone that he knew that would ignore his enemy to worry about his lover. May be Quatre, but he had gotten tougher over the last few months. He might sacrifice Trowa if he had to. And then quietly kill himself to join him. He and Heero knew that to each other the other was expendable if the orders required them to be. No regrets would be had by either of them.

"While I expected this to happen someday and Duo expected this to happen someday, the happening is still is a surprise. You have a tendency to shoot first and ask questions later with your group. I am not too hopeful that he' s going to get out of this without some damage. Or the rest of you" he said quietly. #Because Duo would rather be tortured then tell you what he's been doing. And why. I have a sneaking suspicion Wufei, that even you have no idea how much he has been hiding from you about your controllers. And you usually have the best intelligence about what is going on.#

Treize sighed, his eyes distant, remembering past encounters with Duo . Wufei could see the confidence slowly leave the man sitting opposite him, as he continued, "So I am going to worry about him. Would you believe that we never discussed anything that had to do with the rest of you or the war, except for one night? I love him and he's fond of me, I hope."

Treize frowned at the memory. It was the night that Duo told him why he was really in his bed. Duo's honesty about his reasons for starting this affair, not his superiors. The one night that Treize realized how hag-ridden Duo was under his teasing eyes and quick laugh. The night that Treize realized that Duo had become very important to him. Duo someday might tell him that he loved him, but he'd settle for what he could get.

"If he doesn't love you what is he doing here?" Wufei asked, bewilderment evident in his face.

"T-chan, you talk too much" Duo said loudly, walking out of the bathroom and toweling off his hair. Treize was both relived that he was dressed and disappointed. He really didn't want to see how much weight Duo had lost, but would have liked Wufei to notice it.

"Let me do that for you, Duo" Treize said, grabbing a brush and walking over to him.

"T-chan..." Duo protested.

"If you want to get out of here before Lady Une calls me for breakfast, you better let me brush out your hair." Treize said. "I don't think she would appreciate the two of you here. She might think that I was getting greedy."

"Take your time," Wufei said softly, blushing. He didn't want to get caught by that woman at anytime, "I don't want to..." he trailed off trying to not sound too frightened of a mere woman, even if it was Lady Une. And she knew about Duo? What were her reasons for not turning him or Khushrendra into the Romafellers? Was she waiting for the right moment? Or was she so devoted to Khushrendra that she was willing to overlook his relationship with the enemy? And who else among his staff knew Duo was here? Questions, too many of them were passing through his mind as he waited for Duo to be able to leave.

"Thank you" Treize said softly before starting to work on Duo's hair.

Wufei was astonished at the care that Treize showed with it. Wufei vaguely wished that Heero would do that for him once in a while, even though such a wish was weak. He saw how much pleasure Duo was getting out of it and how much he had relaxed. It was a shame to disturb him, but they did have to go. Heero would be not worried, exactly, but something, hopefully, if he didn't get back in time. Just how he was going to explain this to the rest of the group, he wasn't going to even start thinking about yet.

"Duo," Wufei started, causing the other boy's head to jerk up from its study of the rug , "How did you get here?"

"Bike...woods" Duo mumbled, tensing up again, turning those huge blank eyes at him. Wufei was willing to say that Duo was still in shock, for all that he appeared to be functioning.

"I will follow you back, it's going to be getting light out soon. And you have few minutes to say your good byes." Wufei said as he turned and walked into the other room.

He really didn't want to intrude on their privacy. He could hear the murmur of their voices, but couldn't understand the soft tone of their words. He knew that neither one of them was going to do anything to harm him, even if he couldn't hear what they were saying to each other.

"Duo," Treize started softly, "You don't have to go back. Stay here. You can go back to the cabin. You'll be safe."

Duo smiled at that remark. It wasn't his usual devilish grin, but something more real, something very sad. "No I came to Earth to fight for the freedom of the colonies. That we finally got caught at this, well we both knew that this wasn't gonna be like a forever thing, T-chan." Duo's tone was wistful before it hardened. They had hoped, but.... "Just don't let your guard down again. And be nice to whoever my replacement is, okay? And let ëNeechan give you some TLC, she's not a bad person, just a little psychotic. I should know, I am living with enough of them"

#I'm too scared to admit what you mean to me T-chan, but it was worth it for me, whatever happens. Duo thought. ëAnd if I get out of your life before my luck catches up to me, I will be very happy that you live to be an old, old man even if I never get to see you again. Because I love you with all my heart and that is usually a death sentence.#

Duo stepped into Treize's arms and hugged him tight. They rocked back and forth for a few minutes before Duo reluctantly broke contact with the older man. He leaned up to give Treize a kiss good bye and walked out of the room very fast before he could change his mind. Treize bit his lip until it was bleeding, to control the impulse of grabbing Duo and carrying him forcibly off to that quiet cabin in the woods that only they knew about.

"Come on Wufie, time to leave." Duo said quietly as he walked into the other room and passed his fellow pilot. They quickly climbed down the outside of Treize's apartment and faded off into the woods. Wufie was looked back once, and was startled to see the Treize was standing at the window, clutching the drapes and staring off into the distance, watching them go.

Duo didn't say anything as they made their way back to where he had hidden his bike. Wufei was sure that he hadn't looked back.

Treize went to his desk and sat down. Une found him sitting there hours later, staring at nothing.

"Treize-sama?" She asked cautiously, concerned over his half dressed state and the emptiness in his eyes.

"He's gone." was his bleak reply.

"Duo-kun?" Une asked, frowning. Nothing would have pried the Gundam pilot away from Treize-sama. The little minx would never admit it, but he did love the general. Which was the only reason that she allowed things to go on as long as they had. And he managed to worm his way past her defenses. Treize wouldn't look this depressed if he had voluntarily sent the boy away. Something must have happened.

"Chang Wufei walked in on us. Duo left with him. The other pilots...." Treize voice trailed off at that. He had no idea what would happen. Duo didn't either. And if he was confident about the outcome of this meeting, he would have said something, so that he wouldn't worry. Duo never wanted him to worry him, dangerous as some of the things that he did were. Duo realized that they may kill each other in this war, but before that happened he didn' t want to cause Treize any extra apprehension about what he was doing.

Treize sat at his desk and stared at nothing, contemplating the long nights ahead until heard something about his lover.

Duo walked into the safe house, ahead of Wufei and with his hands laced over his head. Heero raised an eyebrow to this display, but said nothing. Duo stared at the ceiling as the other two greet each other. It wasn't that he was embarrassed, but they did deserve some privacy. Watching Heero's eyes soften as he brushed the other pilot's cheek with his fingertips was not something that he wanted to see, anyhow. Not the way he was feeling right now.

He knew in the back of his mind that it wouldn't last forever, but he had hoped that his fellow pilots would never find out what he had been doing. That he would be dead before they found out. There was too much about his past that he didn't want to tell to them.

He also didn't want to destroy the last of their illusions. He really didn't want to show them how dirty their superiors were willing to fight. Trowa was about the only person that he thought might understand, but he wasn't too sure about that anymore. Love got you all stupid and mushy, he was a prime example of that right now. Watching another piece of innocence go out of their soul was not what he wanted to do. If they killed him...well he really didn't care anymore.

He stopped believing that they were replacing a corrupt government with a shining new hope, when he was ordered to spread his legs for Treize. That it had turned out the way it did, didn't matter. He would have still had to have continued that relationship even if Treize was torturing him nightly, if those bastards thought it was to their advantage. But the rest of them still believed. And he wasn't taking that away from them.

It had become harder and harder to split his time between being a Gundam pilot, an assassin and Treize's paramour. He was tired, emotionally drained and didn't give a flying fuck anymore, about anything, including his own life. Dr. G would be proud, he finally broke him. He got his own emotionless killer.

"How did it go?" Heero asked Wufei. "And what is he doing here? I thought that he had something to do tonight."

"He did," Wufei sighed. "That is a problem that we have to discuss with Quatre and Trowa. Could you wake them up?"

"Why?" Heero asked suspiciously and then grabbed at his gun when he mentally added up all the pieces. Wufei went to see Treize Khushendra. Wufei returns with Duo, who is acting like a prisoner. Duo did something that might have betrayed them. Shoot Duo.

Duo sat down heavily, really not caring that Heero wanted to shoot him. The joke would be on them when they got their next set of orders. Would Heero shoot Dr. J for ordering his lover into someone else's bed? That would be interesting to see.

"I'll kill you." Heero threatened Duo.

"Forget that" Wufei counseled, "wake the other two, please"

Heero grunted and turned to follow Wufei's request, after handing him a mug of tea. Duo he ignored. Wufei sipped at his tea as Duo just stared at hishands on the table. In the heavy silence that filled the kitchen, Duo could hear the murmur of voices from the back of the house. After a few minutes, Trowa and Quatre filed in behind Heero. Quatre was yawning, but Trowa looked awake and suspicious as Heero did.

"Wufei?" Quatre piped up. "Why did you wake us up at dawn?" Another yawn split his face before he noticed Duo sitting at the table.

"Good morning Duo. I thought that you weren't going to be around for a few days?" Quatre asked innocently.

"Plans changed." Duo shrugged, not bothering to raise his eyes. Trowa frowned at this and glanced at Wufei for answers.

"We can't get information from a dead man Heero, put away your gun." Wufei said. Heero glared at him and then handed his lover his gun and went to stand on the other side of the room.

Quatre looked very confused and glanced at Trowa to see if he had any answers. Trowa shook his head. Okay no one knew what was going on. Why would Heero want to kill Duo, he wasn't teasing him?

"Wufei? Duo? Could either one of you explain why Heero just dragged us out of bed?" Trowa asked softly. He knew that they had walked into the middle of something and would like to know what his cue was supposed to be.

"Duo, do you want to explain things or should I?" Wufei asked.

"You"

Quatre frowned faintly at that. Duo had been quiet for a while. That in itself was a sign that something was wrong. Duo could drag out any subject into a conversation. He had the ability to talk about anything to fill the silences that stretched out between them at times. Combined with a peeved Heero and an upset Wufei, something had happened. Just what was going to take a long time to find out. No one seemed to want to talk about it.

Wufei sighed. Duo didn't seem to care how things came out. He had retreated someplace within himself and Wufei didn't think that he was going to leave there for a while. Wufei thought that the only thing keeping him at the kitchen table was the fact that he was too drained to move. The bare facts were probably the best way to go right now. If Duo wanted to add details, he would.

"I went to challenge Khushendra to a duel last night. It was a matter of honor on both sides. A continuation from New Edwards. I was there and found Duo with him already...in a" Wufei blushed, "compromising position."

Quatre and Trowa stared at Wufei, then Duo, who still hadn't raised his head.

"Duo?" Quatre asked his tone begging that it wasn't, "It is true?"

"Why would Wufei lie about something like that?" Duo asked tiredly. "Yes it happened. Why Wufei woke you all up about this was the need he had to deprive the rest of you of some sleep."

"Duo..." Heero growled.

"What Heero? Wufei dragged me back here to decide what is going to happen to me, instead of shooting me out of hand. Okay with that? You guys can have a discussion about what you want to do with me. Right now I don't care."

Quatre kept staring at Duo. He still hadn't lifted his head up and he just sounded so dead. Like Heero or Trowa when they had first met. Thinking back, Duo had been friendlier then, quick with a joke or to tease them. As Trowa and Heero had gotten more comfortable with life, for a lack of a better term, Duo had gotten more distant.

He was still good for a laugh and teased them, he just didn't hang around a lot with them any more. Meals had gotten to be the only time that they saw the other pilot, if they saw him. When he was with them, he spent a lot of time tinkering with Shinigami or hanging out in the kitchen flirting with the cook. He also went on a lot of short assignments and usually met them were they were supposed to be, if he had an assignment with them. Down time seemed to be a foreign concept to Duo. Quatre had thought that it had been because he didn't want to hang around with them because he was a fifth wheel, but something else had been going on.

"Duo," Wufei started gently, "how long have you been involved with the general?"

"Spring"

"That long..." breathed Quatre, mentally adding the time up. Spring, when he had found Heero and Wufei in a ëcompromising position'. He still blushed at that. And when he realized that Trowa and he had some connection to each other. And Duo was left out in the cold? Is that why he was with Khushendra? If so, Quatre expected something more from the other pilot then silence and indifference. Something wasn't adding up.

Heero twitched at Duo's reply and Wufei was very glad that he had given his gun away. If not Duo's brains would have been scattered all over the kitchen and they would never get to the bottom of what was going on. Treize had hinted at something on Duo's part, but Wufei couldn't figure out what. Was it love? Just sex? Boredom?

Duo wasn't going to say anything. Wufei was at a dead end to try and figure out motives, loyalties or anything else with the American pilot. There were pieces missing and he was trying to figure out what they were. He just lacked the experience to see them. He looked at Quatre, pleading with his eyes to have the other boy take over the questioning. He was much better at trying to figure out motives and emotions then anyone else here. Quatre stare back, his own expression confused. Quatre wasn't getting anything either off the facts that were known. And neither boy knew which questions to ask to get answers.

Silence filled the air as Wufei and Quatre tried to figure out what was going on. Heero didn't care, he was just waiting for orders on what to do, since he couldn't shoot the other pilot. Trowa as usual was keeping his own counsel and worrying about his lover. He could sense the emotional maelstrom that was going through Quatre.

Duo broke the stalemate by standing up. Heero made a move to stop him, but a small motion from Wufei held him in place.

"I'm going to sit with Shinigami'" Duo announced. "Come get me when you make up your minds"

"Can I assume that your promise to me still holds?" Wufei.

"Yes." Duo said softly. "I've already been stupid."

"You trust this bastard after you caught him?" Heero growled.

"I will point out to the rest of you that not telling us of his actions does not make him a traitor. While we do work together, on occasion, none of us have the same controller or mission objectives. We just never managed to ask him the right questions to get the information we needed. Since neither Quatre or I seem to be able to do that now, letting him sit with his Gundam is not going to hurt anything."

"Thanks Wufei" Duo mumbled as he stumbled out of the room.

Trowa frowned slightly as he went over the facts in his mind, only listening to Wufei and Quatre talk with half of his attention.

"Heero's right, how can you trust him?' Quatre asked. "What do we know about him? He doesn't talk about his past to any of us. I don't think that he would betray us, but it doesn't look good."

"Quatre, there is something going on that none of us know about." Wufei started, before Heero interrupted him, glaring at his lover.

"Like he's screwing the enemy? How much did he pass on to Treize? We should be moving now, our cover is blown."

"Heero our cover was blown long before today, Treize mentioned that he has enough information on us to find our when we started to walk." Wufei stated, a small frown wrinkling his face. "That's not it, he said he had information on me, Quatre and you. He couldn't find anything on Duo or a lot on Trowa."

"Hnn" Heero started, thinking.

Quatre flushed and snarled at Wufei, "Are you implying that Trowa..."

"No he isn't." Trowa spoke over Quatre's defense of him. "Duo and I have no records because we are war orphans. You all have had a family or someone that would take care of you. I had the Merc unit, which is all that he probably has records for. Duo I think had no one."

"And that means?" Heero growled.

"It means that I am going to talk to Duo, alone." Trowa answered. "He might open up to one person talking to him, instead of four trying to questionhim."

Trowa found Duo leaning against Shinigami, looking at nothing. "Why?" was the only question that he asked the other boy.

Duo shrugged. Trowa looked at him strangely. "Not answering is lying Duo." He challenged him quietly.

Duo flushed and sighed. Trowa had managed to hit the one thing that would get him to spill whatever he knew. And he would because Trowa looking at him with those green eyes knew that life was hard. Trowa had very few illusions left too. Most of them he had got from Quatre.

"Trowa, would you believe that they ordered me to?" Duo asked looking at Shinigami.

"What?" was the stunned response that he got. Trowa didn't know what answer he was expecting, but it wasn't this one.

"Orders Trowa and like a good little soldier I was supposed to follow them."

"Orders from who and why?"

"The why? Because controlling Khushendra meant that you controlled OZ, they thought. And he had just been betrayed by his lover and second, Zechs Mequisa. The bastard had wandered off to pull the Ambassador Peacecraft shit. He was vulnerable and ripe for the picking. So I was sent in by the mad five to seduce him and make sure that the Romafeller foundation didn't kill him or put their own bedwarmer in place, before our side wanted him dead. And if I didn't make him happy, the plan I overheard was that we would all be rotated through until he found what he wanted. I don't know if I was supposed to hear that or not. But I did and I screwed Kheshendra thoroughly, like the pro that I used to be." Trowa heard the disgust at himself in Duo's voice as he hugged his knees to his chest tighter. He still hadn't looked at Trowa.

"Treize must have been happy ëcause he let me keep crawlin' into his bed. And he knew from the beginning that I was hoppin' in there because of orders, so he must have been more desperate then they thought. Or dumb. Or something. Someone on his staff is feeding our side his movements, because I always knew where he was. I banged him like clockwork every two weeks on the average because that's what they wanted me to do, ëcause I was the bright shiny party treat that was there to distract him while someone else got the goods. The who? All our controllers. I think this was about the only thing those bastards ever agreed on."

"Why didn't you tell us?" Trowa asked quietly. He was disturbed about what Duo was telling him, but considering some of the experiences he had with his own controller, he would believe Duo. Even if this wasn't the Duo that he was used to. This stranger with his face seemed more real then the other Duo ever did.

"I didn't know you guys back then. I still don't really. It's more my fault then yours, I never made the effort. I didn't want you to hit by the Maxwell luck, there is enough risk in your lives." Duo's tone was wistful. "And the reason I was whoring on L2 was that I was in one the gangs that they have. You couldn't feed everybody enough with stealing, there wasn't that much to steal. And I watched out for the little ones. And I was with the Johns that meant one of them didn't have to do it so they could eat.

The situation really didn't change for me Trowa. Just moved location. I was trying to protect the rest of you from how immoral our controllers were willing to be to win this war. Wufei, Quatre, and even Heero are just so innocent about that and I want to keep it that way Trowa. Let them think that OZ is the only one that will play dirty. You lost your innocence probably about the same time I did."

"And how do I know that this isn't a story that you made up?"

Duo laughed bitterly. "You don't. It's a faith thing. Let me disappear for a month and see what happens. If nothing does you can kill me. But I think that within a week of my being reported MIA, one of you will get a coded message for a face to face meeting. And then they will drop the news on you."

"And if nothing happens?" Trowa asked, already guessing the answer.

"Then you get to kill me. I'll leave Shinigami behind. It'll make the Mad Five wash their hands of me faster. I kicked up such a fuss about flying, they won't think that I'd voluntarily leave him behind. Besides he's more valuable to them then I am. I'm locking down a few of the systems so you're going to have to hack into them. That should take a couple of days, if not longer. I'm going to complete the mission that I was supposed to do and then arrange for my death." Duo spoke offhandedly, like it didn't matter.

Trowa stared at him and then slowly nodded his head. "You've planned this for a while haven't you?"

"Not really," Duo admitted. "The program I had put in place early, just in case. And I managed to have a few accounts they don't know about that I drained off OZ, that will keep me going on the financial end. Everything else is off the cuff. I would like it if you didn't mention this to the others. If I'm wrong about matters, I don't want them to know what I was doing. Call me stupid, but I feel that it would be like kicking puppies to tell them this. I'd rather have them think it was a lark."

"And where will you be spending your time, after your mission?" Trowa asked.

"Boston. I'll be walking around Castle Island everyday about three. You can find there and tell me the results of my little experiment."

"Duo. You didn't have to come back here..." Trowa started.

"And what was I going to do?" Duo interrupted. "Shoot Wufei because I got caught? That wouldn't be right. Run and wait for the rest of you to catch up with me? I like being a Gundam pilot. I can't do that if I'm running from the rest of you. Hell not letting me pilot was one of the threats that they used to get me in bed with Kushrendra. You guys were the other."

Duo turned and looked Trowa straight in the face for the first time in their conversation. "No way should any of you have to put your ass on the line because I got ideas that I was suddenly above that and wasn't going to put out any more. Not after you all just found each other. Two weeks or less and one of you is going to get a message for a secret meeting. Unless things disintegrate politically. Then all bets are off."

Duo started to walk away, willing to leave everything behind for the mission. Trowa watched go back to the bike with calm eyes. Duo knew what he was doing. Explaining it to the rest would be the hard part, since he couldn 't tell them everything. Heero would be the only problem, but Wufei might be able to keep him calm. He had managed to keep Heero sane for the last few months, they were good for each other. And in few weeks Trowa knew who was going to get that message, he just hoped that their next target wasn't going to be too upset at his not telling them the whole truth.

Duo had climbed on top and was ready to leave when he stopped. "Trowa," he called back, "Be nice to Treize, he really is the innocent bystander in this whole affair. He gave me plenty of chances to walk away and I didn't. I got really stupid with this mess and it's catching up to me."

#You didn't get stupid, Duo. You just fell in love, odd as that seems. You had every right to. Our controllers just didn't have the right to throw you at someone as entertainment. And if they thought that you wouldn't, they were the stupid ones, but then they never saw us as human. And we were so involved with each other, we never saw how lonely you were.# Trowa thought.

 

Notes: #...# indicates thoughts/thinking.

 

 

Dangerous Liaisons by Christine

Part Seven

 

Conversations II

Une started to nibble delicately on the neck of her lover. "How did it go?" she whispered, enjoying the moan that her actions caused.

"They aren't talking. Duo wasn't there. And they were acting like he was out on a mission. They were bothered when I asked about him, but...I'm sorry Une I can't tell you one way or another if he's alive."

"I know. It was a long shot. Treize-sama is acting like nothing has happened, but I can see it in his eyes sometimes. He's worried. And very scared that his little paramour has been done in by the rest of those psychopaths."

"Does it matter? I think that between the two of us we can keep him... entertained." came the leering reply, with a low throaty laugh.

"While you might enjoy it, Treize-sama and I know that we aren't compatible. He thinks of me as a sister, nothing more."

"Are you sure Une? We can always try." was the purred reply.

"Relena, you may be clever enough to cover your real intentions with Heero and the others and may have convinced them that you are a brainless idiot, I know better. And you are not crawling into Treize-sama's bed!"

"Jealous?" was Relena's catty question, her brow arched and a teasing smile on her face.

"Cautious." Une replied firmly, ignoring the act that Relena was putting on. The woman of the world persona wasn't any closer to the real her then the brainless blonde teenager one.

"Why...don't you trust me?" Relena looked little and helpless. Not that she was, Une recognized that behind that scattered-brained façade was a mind that was as ruthless as she was about it goals. Relena may preach total peace and act like it was going to fall into her lap, but realized that the more helpless and scatterbrained she looked, the more the Romafellers were going to under estimate her.

"Not with your political motives. You are just making sure that no matter who wins this conflict, you and the Sank kingdom will come out relatively intact." Une growled back, biting Relena on the shoulder.

"And that's a bad thing how?" Relena moaned, enjoying the pain. Une was rough in bed most of the time. Relena was certain that the older woman was working off all her frustrations off with this affair. Just like she was. It was joy to be herself with someone. Not the façade of spoiled darling of Ambassador Darlian. Or the airhead pacifist that spoke against the Romafeller Foundation.

"Not bad, just smart." Une admitted grudgingly, "Now shut up and let me fuck you."

Relena was leaving when, giving Une one last kiss, when the older woman stopped her.

"Relena," she asked quietly, "would you ever send me flowers?"

Relena thought for a moment, wondering where this question had come from. "I don't know, I enjoy my time with you and it is a relief not to be something I'm not. Like I am with everyone else. I don't know if I would send you flowers. Why do you ask?"

"The first night that Duo and Treize-sama were together, Duo left early. I don't know why, but probably he wasn't too sure of what the dawn would bring. He isn't very trusting at times. But he sent roses as an apology for leaving, because he felt bad. That's why I am not letting you near Treize-sama, because he let himself fall in love with Duo for that little thoughtful gesture, more then he loved your brother. Who never did anything without thinking about how it would benefit him. And that relationship ended up hurting him a lot. Besides, I think there is something incestuous about sleeping with your brother's former lover."

"My brother and Treize?" Relena asked, stunned. "I had heard rumors, but.... That is strange. Because Noin told me that she and my brother were/are involved."

"He was sleeping with both of them for a time, and I don't think they knew. They could guess, but he never said anything."

Relena frowned, a look of distaste across her face. "That is just so...greedy."

 

Conversations III (Played back for the other pilots at their current safe house)

"Do you know why I called you here my boy?"

"A mission?" came the cautious reply.

"Yes. We want you to get closer to Khushrendra."

"Closer." his confusion was evident, "Closer? He's the enemy!"

"Yes, closer. We managed to have Maxwell in his bed before the idiot got killed. Khushrendra is still a power in OZ and we still want to keep an eye on him. So unfortunately, it means that you are going to have to do some distasteful things, before we can get rid of him."

"Huh?"

"You are not stupid, but do I have to spell I out for you?" sighed an older man.

"Uhh...that would be good."

"Good God you're not still a virgin are you?"

"What!!"

"If that means yes, I'm sorry. But we think that you have the best chance of getting into his bed. After that whore Maxwell, you might be a good choice. Innocence is always appealing"

#Whore? You treated him like one. It doesn't make him one.# floated quickly through his head. " You want me to what! With..."

"Sex. Khushrendra."

"Maxwell...and ...no!"

"Why not? For the right price once upon a time, Maxwell could be had by almost anyone on L2. Such experience shouldn't have been wasted...so when we needed to send someone ëundercover' he was the natural choice. The little rat never really had a choice. When he balked, we threatened to throw him out on the street again, minus his Gundam. And send one of you in his place. We knew which buttons to push. You never figured out where he was going all that time?" Came a dry chuckle.

"How long?" was the resigned tone. Ignoring the question.

"Just few months. We have something in place so that when we want to get rid of him, it will be a simple injection. No mess no fuss. But get in there fast, Romafeller Foundation has the same idea and might beat us to the punch. And that would be regrettable."

"That was cold." Wufei observed as Quatre shut off the tape. Trowa shrugged and Heero growled.

"I don't know why you all are upset, I'm the one they chose for this." Quatre complained, cuddling closer to Trowa. "And I don't know that they bought the innocent blonde act."

"Why not?" Wufei asked. "I could feel you blushing over the tape." #Besides you are an innocent, even after all the death and pain that you have endured.#

"That was anger. That they threatened Duo to make him follow their orders. And before you protest Heero, this does go beyond the call of duty. Dying for the colonies I can understand, not what they did to him. They left him nothing of his own! Nothing worth fighting for. No wonder he was never around most of the time. He must have been so confused after a while." Quatre snarled. #We all volunteered for this, to fight for what we thought was right. They shouldn't have taken it to this level. Did they get what they wanted out of him? Or was just another punishment that they wanted to inflect on him?#

"Any more?" Wufei asked, not knowing if he should be impressed or disturbed at Quatre's attitude. Qutre was usually so...nice. Snarling was something he would never thought was in the other pilot. He had never seen anyone this angry.

"Yeah, but most of it was advice on how to seduce Khushendra and I don't think they had a clue about that either." Quatre sighed. "And more nastiness about Duo. Dr. G let slip that Duo turned him down and that's why he got it, instead of Wufei. I nearly punched him for that one. And that was the most civil comment that he said about him. And they have been handing him every shameful assignment that they could."

Heero and Wufei exchanged a look and shrugged. It explained a lot about Duo' s lack of cooperation with their questioning of him. That was something that he might not want to let the others know about. Not that any of their pasts were spotless, but... Heero had been ready to kill Trowa when he announced that he had let Duo go. But Wufei and Khushendra? Thinking of them as a couple was a disturbing notion. Wufei's nauseated look mirrored his own reaction.

"And you!" Quatre turned to face his lover. "You could have warned me about this...I would have handled it better."

"Duo asked me not to tell any of you." Trowa smirked slightly, " And confused innocence is always so much better when it's not faked. Plus he wasn't too sure that they would do this again. If they weren't just manipulating him from the beginning."

"And if they had asked someone else?" Heero inquired sarcastically.

Trowa shrugged. "I was betting on Quatre would be their next victim. Dr. J would have sent you in as a last choice. He wouldn't want his favorite weapon actually finding out someone could be nice to him." Trowa's tone was as sarcastic as Heero's. He was willing to bet his next meal that Dr. J had no idea what his little weapon did to keep warm at night. "Wufie might have been chosen if they knew about his dueling with him, but I thought that they didn't. Besides they might have wanted to go back to blonde and stop concentrating on hair length. As for myself, a lot of people don't think that scar tissue is a turn on."

Quatre leaned up to kiss him, before cuddling back into his arms again. "Those bastards!" he grated out. "They have no idea about anything, do they?" #Even with all the scars you're beautiful to me. I just wished that you believed it. #

"Quatre," Trowa scolded, amusement coloring his voice. He really had no idea why Quatre loved him so deeply. "Such language. But you do have to make a visit to the general. Duo mentioned that there might be someone on his staff that was giving information to the scientists. So you do have to show up eventually. And stay a couple of hours. It also would be nice to tell Treize that we haven't killed Duo. And where he is."

"Why," Heero asked flatly, glaring at Trowa.

"Because," Wufei said gently, "No matter how it started or why it started, Treize Kusherendra does love Duo. He does deserve to know that he hasn't been harmed by us. The look in his eyes when we left...he deserves to know that Duo hasn't been hurt by us." #Duo and he were like two broken dolls that night. Treize hid it until he left, but I have never seen such fear in someone's eyes. He was terrified that Duo was never going to come back to him.#

"Wufei...he's the enemy." Heero growled. He did not understand what all the fuss was about. Duo was the enemy until they found out differently. Sleeping with the enemy, even if he was under orders, would confuse his goals. And Duo wasn't too trustworthy to begin with. Not like Trowa or Wufei. Duo was a clown and a fool, while the other two weren't.

"That's the sad part. He's treated Duo better then his allies have. Including us." Wufei retorted. #Heero you'd want to know if it was me, I think. And I know that if it was you I would like to know that you were still alive. Feel for a second, instead of just thinking!#

"But we didn't know!" Quatre wailed, coming to the end of his patience. "He never told us!"

"Quatre, Duo never wanted us hurt. Finding out what he was doing and why, how do you feel now? And as that relationship progressed, I think he got more confused about who the enemy was." Trowa said.

"Dirty, Trowa, I feel really dirty. We should have helped Duo more." Quatre said sadly. #Why didn't I know that this was going on? Why couldn't I have figured it out. I should have known that no one could be that happy all the time, but I didn't want to examine him too closely.#

"Giving him time to think was the best thing that we could do." Trowa said, comforting his lover with a hug. #Poor Quatre, you feel too much, that's why Duo avoided us all. He didn't want any of us hurt. And you would have been because that's the way you are.#

 

Interlude VI

Quatre nervously snuck into Treize's private apartment. While the doctors had told him that he wouldn't get caught, his faith in them had taken a downward spiral since he got this assignment. That Duo had been doing this for months without telling them didn't make him feel better. He just was hoping that Treize wasn't going to shoot him out of hand. He made enough noise, so that he wouldn't startle Treize. It was three in the morning, so there shouldn't be anyone else in there with him. It there was, he'd just shoot them and get it over with. Duo did not need that complicating his life. He still jumped when he heard a voice behind him.

"Good morning," Treize purred. "I suppose you're the next bright shiny object that I won?" #Duo was right, these people are not subtle. Did they think that it would work a second time, after Duo was dragged out of here by Wufei. Or did none of the pilots bother to tell anyone what really happened?#

"Uh..." Quatre blushed violently. He felt really cheap. Did Duo feel like this the first time that he had to do this? He prayed the floor would just open up and swallow him. He didn't feel too bright.

"I take it that's a yes. And I know that a ëgo home' won't work, either. Dedication to the cause and all that," he continued sarcastically. #If I didn't know better, this child had to never sneak anyplace in his life. Blushing innocence, I should give them points for at least trying to peek my interest with someone different. Not that it would work. Une can eat him as a snack and he would have made me feel guilty more then anything. He just looks too damn young.#

"Actually, I'm just dropping in for a few hours, so they think that something is going on..."

"Why should I care if your superiors think that you're following your orders or did they threaten your family? Or your lover? Do they even know or care that you have a lover? They seem to think that you five exist for their whims only." Treize continued to speak as if Quatre hadn't started, staring at him with a horrified look on his face. "Good God you look even younger then Duo is. Do those idiots you that give you your orders believe that I'm a pedophile?"

"Duo's fine, we didn't do anything to him. He disappeared to force their hand." Quatre finished with a rush. He took a deep breath and continued, he was way over his head here. This should have been covered someplace in his life, under helpful hints for dealing with OZ generals and other people whose bedroom you sneaked into. "He didn't tell us anything! We never knew what was going on! And I can't help how I look!"

"Where is he then?" Treize growled. #Duo was right, they were good friends, if he was willing to do this just to tell me that Duo was unharmed by them. He looks like he is going to die from shame.#

"Boston."

Treize laughed. Quatre looked at him in confusion. "What's so funny?"

Treize stopped laughing. "How much do you know?"

"Not much," Quatre admitted. "The only one Duo talked to was Trowa and he isn't saying anything. As usual." Quatre smiled for a second. Treize liked seeing the change in him. He looked much better thinking about his lover, rather then trying to explain things to him. "But I got information from my superiors, which I'm taking most of it with a grain of salt. Sour grapes covers a lot of things with Dr. G I think." Quatre finished thoughtfully.

"Duo and I spent a week there last summer. He teased me unmercifully about how those rebels made it work and that OZ was doomed. We had fun." Treize said quietly, ignoring Quatre's slip of the tongue. "I think...that's when I realized that you could chuck it all and forget who you were supposed to be."

Treize was quiet for a second and then smiled at Quatre. "Where are my manners, do you want something to drink?"

"Yes, please." Quatre was relieved that. He sighed and sat on the bed. The worst, he hoped was over. Just hang out here for an hour or so and then sneak back to Trowa. He absentmindedly took the glass from Treize and took a sip. "Chuck it all? Sounds like Duo had corrupted you."

"Not really, Duo and I have a public persona and a private one. Very few people get to see the private one for either of us."

"I'd have liked to see that Duo." Quatre said sadly. "You are about the only person that he was close too. He never talked about the past with us or the future. He'd joke and help and cheer you up, but he never talked about himself."

"He mentioned that once. That the person he was closest to was the one he was going eventually have to kill. And it was tearing him apart, along with all the other assignments that he kept getting. He was wasting away over the stress. The last night he was here..." Treize stopped and stared at Quatre.

"It's nice that you are telling me all this, but what's going to happen in the future? Getting in contact with Duo means that he has to fight again. He won't sit this out. I don't like it, but it is his life. But it also means that he's going to be under his controller's thumb again. And that's not a good idea. They were running him ragged. And how are they going to react to his reappearance? And how do the rest of you feel about our relationship?" Treize fired off the questions at Quatre.

"I don't know. We haven't planned that far. Wufei just wanted me to tell you that Duo was okay. Heero's a bit miffed, but after they heard my interview with the Docs about sending me here...there was a lot of discussion. And we still don't know what we are going to do." Quatre finished in frustration. "Especially since all our contacts were abruptly cut off."

He blushed when he realized how big a blunder he had made. #Oops, I shouldn't have said that. But he probably knew that already. Or may be not, because G' s still breathing and he wouldn't be if Treize got his hands on him.# Quatre was happy that Treize ignored his blunder, continuing on with his discussion of the future.

"What it comes down to is that you all are fighting for the colonies freedom from Earth, whether they want you to or not. The problem I am having is that OZ is changing. Too much reliance on the mobile dolls. War is getting automated and they are never going to end it if they Romafeller Foundation don't have to take the losses in battle. I must confess, I don't think that in a month I am going to be here. Forces internal to OZ want me out of the picture. If things go the way that Lady Une has predicted, given the status quo, I will be ousted from head of the Specials by then." Treize sighed. "I just want the same thing that you do. Peace for the colonies and Earth. I just want to have a single government. May be Relena's Total Peace will be a good thing. I don't know."

Quatre was stunned by the honesty that Treize was showing him. And suspicious. He opened his mouth to argue with him again and was surprised by the sound of someone bursting into the room behind them. Quatre drew his gun and pointed it at the intruder. He hesitated for a second, not really wanting to shoot Lady Une.

"Treize-sama, " she cried, ignoring Quatre. "I have miscalculated. Dermail's people are on their way now to arrest you.

"Shit!' Treize swore. "Permanent or temporary retirement? What do your sources say."

"Temporary to Luxembourg, but the timing is off. More of a time for assassination then house arrest."

"Not really. Sick during the night, too ëill' to continue until I accept the mobile dolls. I have been expecting this since I told them that they had turned the war into a bloodless circus on their part. Just get him out of here. Getting him caught with me won't be good either." Treize said, gesturing to Quatre. "They are already questioning my loyalty. Fill him in on anything that you know and disappear yourself, space would be good. Start a tour of the facilities out there. I need you out of the way of them. Just in case they decide that you are better off not being active." Treize ordered.

"Yes Treize-sama." Une murmured, herding Quatre out of the room.

She hit a panel in the wall, opening a hidden passage. "After me, Winner-kun" she murmured, "this will lead us out to the base. You should be able to find your way back from there. How is Duo-chan?"

"Fine, I think. We haven't talked to him in a while." Quatre replied, puzzled. #Duo-chan?#

"Ah...will you be seeing him soon?" she asked, turning a corner.

"I think so, would you like me to pass on a message?" Quatre asked respectfully. #Duo-chan? She sounds almost, nice talking about him.#

"Only that I found the leak to the scientists and eliminated it. He's not going to have to worry about those deviants critiquing their performance in bed any more." Une replied calmly.

"They weren't?" Quatre asked horrified. #Thrust the knife deeper you bastards, nothing was sacred to you! You just had to make sure that he was following orders. Or were you getting your jollies listening to them?#

"Motion sensor in the room. I almost missed it. Passive feed to an off site location. Only activated when there were two people in the room. The person that we had searching the room was being paid to look the other way for that one...I've taken care of the problem." Une replied coldly, smiling ferally.

"They were taping them in bed?" Quatre repeated numbly. This was so weird. And sick. He shivered, wondering what Une had done to the traitor that made her so gratified and if he could take a few strips out of his hide too for Duo. That Duo knew about it...he hoped that he did at least. If he didn't he wasn't going to tell him, because that was just too cruel.

"Why?" he asked numbly and mentally kicked himself. That was someplace that he did not want to go.

Une turned and looked at him curiously, wondering what had prompted that question. Quatre looked back with a confused and hurt look on his face, he was still trying to figure out why he asked that one too. There must have been something there that made her answer.

"Duo suspected the bedroom was bugged, no matter where they were" she told him. "He had received orders that no matter how injured or sick he was, he was to keep Treize-sama ëentertained'. He didn't once, he was too injured after one of his other assignments. He was then told that he was to have sex with him whenever he visited. Treize informed me of that after Duo left one day. And they made sure afterwards that when anything happened most of it wasn't in the bedroom, it just started there and enough hints were dropped so that they knew that something had happened. Your superiors wanted make sure that he kept Treize-sama preoccupied."

Une's tone was controlled, but Quatre felt her anger. He did not want have this woman irked at him. She was scarier then most of his sisters, together, in a small room, mad at him for fooling around with their stuff.

"I'm sorry to pry," he apologized, feeling rather like a tiny mammal trapped by a cat. "We never knew what was going on. Just that Duo went on a lot of solo missions and ...." Quatre's voice trailed off when he realized who he was talking to. Oz's unofficial head of Intelligence really didn't need to know this.

Une smiled tightly. "Do you really think I didn't have any idea what was going on?"

Quatre stopped and looked at his feet. "The rest of us sure didn't! Duo...Duo..." his voice trailed off in frustration. He felt so used. May be his father had been right. Une leaned over and touched him gently on the cheek. Quatre looked up startled. Tenderness was the last thing he expected out of a woman that threatened to blow up a colony if they didn't surrender their Gundams to her.

"Duo was willing to accept those assignments so you or Wufei didn't have to. He was very protective of you, even if he didn't show it. Duo didn't want you to become as jaded about killing as your controllers were. They wanted him to be very used to doing ëwetwork', I believe is the phrase, so that it would be easier for him to kill Treize when they ordered him to. It was starting to wear him down, the Duo that I meet early in their relationship was not the same boy that Wufei left with that last night. That was their plan from the beginning, to be kill able to Treize-sama when it was advantageous for them to do so, they were slowly crushing his spirit so that he would be happy to do it. That and he was expendable in their eyes if he got caught."

Quatre slumped against the wall, stunned. He couldn't believe anything this cool woman told him, but it did make sense. It was too unbelievable not to be true. Duo had mentioned once that he was an impulse addition to be trained, because his controller had found him stowed away on one of the Sweepers barges.

He looked at her, mind filled with questions that he was too afraid to ask and too tired to want to hear the answers. Une handed him disk. He felt ancient. He wondered if this was why Duo had been looking wraithish the last few weeks he was with them. It was tiring to feel that old so young.

"The information on there is something that you might be interested in."

"Why are you giving me this information?" he asked curiously.

"Because Treize-sama asked me to." she replied simply. "Now get out of here while you can. And please give Duo-chan a hug for me. I missed his visits."

#Great now I just have to wonder why Treize is giving me this information, is it good, or will it blow up in my face. Or is it revenge for all the mental acrobatics that he must have went through to figure out why Duo was sleeping with him?# Quatre thought as he cautiously made his way to the exit. He had to get out of here. Getting trapped behind enemy lines during a coupe was not something that his lover would forgive him for. He would get the information back to Heero and Wufei, then go and contact Duo in Boston. He had a right to know what was happening with his lover. After Trowa hugged him a lot because he was very disturbed about his encounter with Lady Une. She was very scary and he had no idea what magic Duo performed to make that woman like him. Unless he was sleeping with the both...? No he was not going to get that picture in his mind. Une in bed with anyone was an absurd thought.

 

Interlude VII

Duo watched the children play at the swing set. There were less children here then during the summer, but there were still some that were willing to brave the cold. Boston hadn't really been touched by the war. There were no big bases any where on the Eastern Seaboard, just a bunch of small independent labs that subcontracted most of their research to OZ. Usually an easy in, easy out job. He had done a couple while waiting for T-chan to show up last summer. The info had been transmitted to the Docs after he had gotten it, so he didn't have anything to worry about when Une searched his stuff when he was out with T-chan, if she found out where his safe spot was while he was in Boston. He didn't have much, so it shouldn't have taken her more then a few minutes. She would have found it and Boston would have been his downfall, instead of the most wonderful week of his life. ëNeesan would have been really peeved that he was using his vacation with Treize to also nab some secret research.

The mothers had looked at him oddly when he started hanging around here a couple of weeks ago. He didn't blame them. He had looked like one of thecreeps that he warned the kids in his gang about. A few days of rest had gotten the circles out from under his eyes. After a few weeks he could sleep through the night, mostly, and look at himself in the mirror without wincing. And he was starting to fill out. He was looking less like a refugee from Bedlam and more like a normal human being.

He wondered how long it would last. The waiting game was driving him insane, since he had caught up on his sleep. This was the part that was going to kill him, what was going to happen to him. Did the Mad Five contact anyone else or was this all just another mind game that they had been playing with him? And who was the next winner in the ëJump Treize Khushrendra Contest.' Was he gonna wake up one night with Trowa or Heero pointing a gun at him, blowing his brains out because they thought he had lied to them? Or would it be arranged so that it looked like he had jumped in front of a bus or train? Aside from a few things that he had to take care of, Duo stayed off the nets and avoided using anything that might be traced back to him.

It had taken a few days for one of the kids to get up the courage to ask what he was doing there and gradually he had charmed them. That he looked harmless helped a lot. And he was willing to play with them under the watchful eyes of assorted mothers, baby sitters and older brothers and sisters. They all had accepted the story of small vacation before going back to school. It was true, because even if they other pilots let him back to work with them, he didn't think that they were going to let him stay near them, so he was expecting another round of boarding schools or worse. But he didn't think that he'd be staying with them. Or seeing T-chan again. Not without a chaperon and he didn't think that anyone in the group, including himself was up to a threesome. T-chan's eyes would light up he bet, just to try it once. He really was greedy at times.

He avoided all the places that he and T-chan had been last summer. He had gone a museum one day and almost burst out in tears. All the places they had been to he avoided, just so that he wouldn't be bothered by the memories. So he rented a small room in a tiny neighborhood near the island and hung out there and a few other places, like the library, while waiting to see if Trowa came to kill him or if he got to pilot again. And got see to see T-chan again.

He hoped that T-chan would forgive him someday and take him back. He felt like a real idiot walking out on him, but he couldn't tell him where he was. And he definitely couldn't visit him because then the Docs would know and the cat would be out of the bag. So they both got to be thousands of kilometers apart and brooding over the fact that they missed each other.

He wondered if they had gotten around to pushing someone else into his bed before it had all broken loose, with the announcement of his ëillness'. Romafellers had taken him out of the game for some reason, he was wondering if it was going to be permanent. T-chan had been walking a tightrope since his coup and destruction of the Federation Doves, he just might have finally slipped, even with all of ëNeesan's support. Une had been off on her calculations a bit, she'd thought that there'd been more time. Duo was certain that she hadn't taken into consideration Mirialdo Peacecraft. He had managed to spoil things with his alliance with White Fang. Duo wondered how T-chan was handling this. He almost decided to ignore his plan and rushed back to him, just to hold his hand and tell him everything would be alright. The comforting lies that one wants to tell. He knew he would never have been able to tell him that, but he wanted to.

"Yeah Treize you sure know how to pick ëem. One former lover trying to kill you and your dream and your current whatever hiding out, so his allies can decide whether or not to kill him." Duo muttered to himself.

Duo was about to start his daily walk about the causeway, when he spotted Quatre waving at him. It wasn't like Duo was hard to miss, it was windy and his braid was bobbing around for all it was worth. He smiled. They must want him back if they sent Quatre to pick him up, any of the others and he would be debating if it they were going to kill him. He bounced up to Quatre, happy to see him. He had missed all of them while he was gone. He hadn't been around much, but they were the closest thing that he had to family in the Universe and he didn't want to see them sad. Duo enveloped Quatre in a bear hug and couldn't say anything for a moment.

"You okay Quatre?" he asked, seeing the worry in the other's eyes. #May be they did send Quatre to shoot me. Though I don't think the Trowa would do that to him. He tries to protect him as much as possible, whether he needs it or not.#

"Bad news, Duo." He said, "can we go someplace where we won't be overheard?"

"Yeah, we can walk around while we talk, people aren't too plentiful around here in the winter, no one to overhear us." #May be I'm jumping to conclusions. Too many people around. Even Heero isn't this ballsy. I'm really bad when I can't trust Quatre for God's sake.# Duo nervously thought.

"You look better," Quatre started as they went towards the ocean. #Anything would look better then the last time that I saw you. You looked dead, just your body hadn't realized it yet.#

"Well I couldn't have looked any worse then I did that night." Duo said echoing his thoughts," Trowa didn't get into too much trouble from the other two about letting me wander off, did he?"

"They were angry, but they got over it." #Heero's still brooding over it. And they both got out of there as soon as possible. They didn't trust any assurances that Treize probably knew where we were all along.#

"He's a nice guy, but you knew that already or else you wouldn't be smoochin' him." Duo teased.

Quatre blushed, Duo laughed and hugged him again. #Sorry to be all over you Quatre, but I need to touch someone. I've been lonely, and you're not going to come out and tell anything unless I ask...# "So what brings you here?"

"Duo, there's been trouble. The night that I met with Treize..."

"What!?" Duo exclaimed stopping suddenly, then moaned "Oh shit, they didn't, not you, damn it have they no conscience left?"

"Duo," Quatre, looked at him seriously . "It shouldn't have been you either, but they did it."

"But...Hell I was used to it, Quatre I've been on the street, most of my life, except for the short time I was in an orphanage. I was used to get treated like a party favor. You aren't. You're a nice guy that got sucked into this mess." Duo said, staring off into the distance. "How'd you get the honor?"

Quatre laughed. That he didn't have to go through with it, made the situation seem funny now. May be it was hysterics because everything was coming out right for once. "Outside me and you can you see any of the others trying to pulled it off? Heero would have shot him, Wufie would have ranted at him and Trowa would have just looked at him."

"That still don't make it right. Shit, if those people would think or do research, they'd figure out that T-chan doesn't think with his dick. And if he did, it would be some weird Byzantine plot that they would be clueless about, cause that's how he thinks. Waving a pretty bauble in front of his face doesn't distract him as much as they want it to. I'm still trying to figure out why he was letting me crawl in and out of his bed at first."

"He liked you?" Quatre asked, "You were nice to him? You weren't really trying to get anything out of him. He was trying to figure out why you were doing it? Ask him when you see him again." #Duo why don't you believe that someone can love you, for yourself. What had been done to you and Trowa that you can't believe it? What did they break in you?#

"If he lets me see him again." Duo sighed. "I walked out on him, just like his last paramour, for my own selfish reasons. He might get sick of his lovers taking off on him." #I miss you so much, T-chan. I dream about you. I want to see you again. This seems different from the other times that I left you because I don't know if I'd see you again, if you let me talk to you again. I want to tease you and cook for you and see you smile as I make faces at 'Neesan.#

"He wants to see you." Quatre reassured Duo, wanting to get that look out of his eyes. He looked lost and scared. "And they weren't selfish, you just can 't commit to him the way that the rest of us can with our lover. I think that he understands why you left. He wasn't happy about it, but then he wasn't really happy about me showing up either. In fact I think his words were ëDo those bastards think I'm a pedophile?' He's in Luxembourg at the Romafeller estate there, under house arrest. I barely got out of there before his arrest. The only reason I did was because Lady Une escorted me out through some weird secret passage." Quatre paused for a second, "She says ëHello' and she misses you. You weren't...?"

"He's under arrest? Why? The news briefs said he was sick, but I didn't think so. I know how truthful they usually are, I thought it might be something else." Duo caught up with the last part of the sentence. "Oh no, she just was happy that I was sleepin' with Treize and not a Romafeller toady. Or his last lover, they did not get along at all. And she knew that I wasn't going to back stab T-chan, so she put up with the arrangement. I sorta treated her like an older sister half the time. I think that amused her. "

"Who was his last lover?" Quatre asked curiously. #You treated Lady Une like she was an older sister? And she let you? What did you do to make these people like you? And why doesn't it work on the scientists?#

"Mh?" Duo looked at Quatre, his mind on how fast he could get to the estate in Luxembourg. "Oh? It was Mirialdo Peacecraft, Relena's older brother, otherwise known as Zechs Merquisa."

"Oh, I was wondering how they knew that he liked boys. They must have found out about it and when he left...they sent you in there." Quatre said, "It would have been embarrassing to find out he wasn't interested."

"Yeah he was pretty broken up about his leaving him, then he does the Ambassador thing. That OZ is bitchin' about the Mobile Dolls to him at the same time didn't help. I must have the last straw and he just went with the flow. Besides anyone with half a brain in the Specials figured out his interests a long time ago. He wasn't bothering to be subtle about that part of his life. They didn't care, he got that much charisma goin' for himself. Which is why there's trouble with the Romafeller Foundation. They are just sooo traditional and hetro." Duo drawled, wanting to get Quatre to laugh. He hadn't heard it in a while.

Quatre obliged him with a chuckle, thinking that most of the Foundation would point out that they had to control the colonies, look at the degenerates that it was sending to fight them. It was just weird that they all had been interested in boys more then girls. Or was it the fact that after a while, you needed someone to love and if there were only guys available that you trusted.... He wouldn't have thought that Wufei was homosexual or Heero.

But thinking of those two and Trowa under the slang term of gay just was too bizarre. Gay did not cover their personalities. He didn't know about Duo, but he never been interested in girls, too many sisters he guessed.

Duo stared at the water, feeling Quatre look at him and wondered how he was going to break the comfortable silence that had fallen over them. Duo enjoyed being with a friend, if Quatre could be called that, but they had business to cover and questions to answer. Much as he liked standing here watching the gulls smash clams, they both had things to do. Duo sighed and spoke, "Quatre, the rest sent you out here for two reasons. One you're not going to kill me out of hand, none of the rest of them would have that attitude. Two, you have the most tact of any of us. You'd explain things a lot better then anyone else. So what do you want me to do? I really want to make up with Treize, but..." Duo trailed off, blushing. "If you guys aren't happy about that I will go with your decision."

"Go make up." Quatre beamed at him, starting to perk up again. He adored playing Cupid, while this was not the couple that he would have chosen, but you work with what you have. And Duo had been lonely because of their selfishness. "He hasn't interfered with us before this, he won't now. The big problem is trying to get Shinigami back. Howard's got it, and I don't think he's going to give it back to you. He's in Space on the PeaceMillion. Mirialdo /Zechs has been spotted with them a lot."

"I'll talk to Howard about that. We can work something out. I don't think he 's been clued in on all the facts. Zechs might be a problem though. How'd you guys get him into space?"

" Howard picked him up a week after you left. Heero still couldn't get him to do anything. Which is good, because we haven't heard from anyone after they told me to go visit Treize. I think that they went over to the White Fang, either willingly or were captured. The colonies have rejected us. There's a price on all of our heads. We've got no orders, but we've agreed to still fight on, so after things get settled, I'll tell you the plan, because we have to think of one. It should take you a day to get to Luxembourg. Meet me in five days in the Sank kingdom at Relena's."

Duo hugged Quatre again. "Thanks for understanding. You don't have to worry about me showing up with Treize because for him bolting would be bad. He's waiting for something to happen, but I don't know what though."

"Duo, I wish that you would have told us what was going on." he started. When Duo opened his mouth to say something Quarte shook his head. "Not that you were sleeping with Treize. Or why you started it. But I wish that you would have let us known that the Docs were using you for so many assassinations. You shouldn't have had to suffer by yourself."

"It was getting to me Quatre," Duo admitted, " that's why I wasn't eating towards the end, but what kept me going was the fact that they wouldn't hand them off to Trowa or Heero, but you or Wufei. That wouldn't have been good. Wufei's stressed out enough over a lot of things and you shouldn't have to do that. You are trying to fight a clean war, stupid as that sounds and you were heading towards a breakdown yourself, until the Mobile Dolls."

"I know, Trowa was what kept me sane," Quatre said softly. "I wish that you could have had that comfort, instead of stolen visits."

"T-chan tried to stop time when I was with him and for the most part it worked." Duo smiled back at Quatre, "but there were mornings that I could have cheerfully killed you all because you all fell asleep and woke up with your lover for more then one night at a time. That's what hurt. Now that I think of it, I can see why T-chan cuddles more then anything, it's...you know?" Duo finished with a sappy smile on his face.

"I know, get going and you'll have more time with him." Quatre smiled back at him. Cuddling did make up for a number of things.

"Thanks Quatre," Duo said as he enveloped the other boy in a bone crushing hug before dashing off. "See you in the Sank Kingdom."

Quatre smiled sadly, For a second, Duo seemed like his old self. Twice as bouncy as a sack full of kittens and as cute. He hoped that it worked out for Duo. He did deserve it.


	3. Part 3

Interlude VIII

Duo approached the estate carefully. It wasn't as heavily guarded as it should be. Most of the troops seemed to have been pulled recently. He flitted from shadow to shadow, not believing that Oz troops here were more lax about security then the ones that usually guarded military bases. The outbreak in hostilities towards the Sank Kingdom and the Pro-Treize factionalism lent a little disorder to his enemies, but this was ridiculous! There was no one here. How were they guarding this place? Where they inside? Was he in chains? What?

Duo continued to slowly infiltrate the base, trying not to get too overconfident. He couldn't relax his guard until he was out of here and on the way to the Sank Kingdom. He hoped that T-chan didn't have guards in his rooms, that would put a crimp on one set of plans that he had. He had missed T-chan. He wanted to be able to spend the night with him, just being held. He didn't care if they actually did anything, he just wanted to be with him.

Duo slowly worked, by passing the security system and going through the computer controls. He was surprised to see embedded in so very odd looking programs, the fact that all the Gundam pilots could waltz in and out of Romafellers headquarters with ease. The security program had them flagged as friendlies. He had to ask T-chan about that. He figured out where T-chan's ëguest' quarters was and made his way down to that level. From the information that he could gather, the Romafellers left Treize alone to his books, his music and other amusements. It was an honorable confinement, but Duo was not too sure how long it was going to last.

The Romafellers played dirty and they played for keeps. The scientists were only about two baby steps aside from them for treachery and dirty dealings. Duo half heartedly mused on all this as he made his way towards his target. Hopefully T-chan was alone, but there was no way of telling until he broke into the place. In for a penny, in for a pound, he could always claim he was to shoot him or free him whichever made more sense at the time. Duo held his breath, prayed and silently unlocked the door. He slipped in quietly, worried to see that the lights were out, it was too early for T-chan to have hit the sack. Classical music played in the back and Duo followed the sound. He ghosted through the apartment, silently following the music until he reached the source. He recognized the piece as the Hungarian Dance from "Swan Lake". He hoped that T-chan wasn't torturing himself by listening to Duo's favorite piece. The poor guy was in enough trouble already. Duo got to the edge of the door and just looked.

Treize was in bed, curled up with a book, with a glass of wine by the side of the bed. He appeared to be alone, but Duo couldn't resist just taking a look at him before he announced his presence. T-chan looked pale. Duo thought it was because the other man was not getting enough sun. Imprisonment did that to you. He looked engrossed in whatever he was reading, but there was an air of sadness about him. Duo felt his heart skip a little, knowing that he was the cause of that. He made a little scuffling noise before he stepped into the light. Duo was surprised to see that T-chan dropped the book and pointed a pistol at him. Duo laughed. It was the perfect way to be reunited with him, over the barrel of a gun.

"I missed you," Duo said softly, "And I'm sorry that I worried you."

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Duo crossed the room in a couple of strides and leaped onto the bed. Treize barely had time to drop the gun and the book before his arms were filled with Duo kissing him like he never wanted to stop. Treize returned his kisses, eventually rolling Duo over, trapping the smaller figure beneath himself and just staring at him.

"I was worried. I wanted to find you, but realize that hiding was the best thing for you. You look better then the last time that I saw you." he said before starting another round of kisses. Duo's hands hadn't been idle, he was busily running them up and down Treize's back and arms, any place that he could touch. "Quatre told me you were safe and I was happy." Treize murmured, moving down to nibble on Duo's ear lob.

Duo moaned helplessly. Every place that T-chan touched felt like it was on fire. He tried to get closer to his lover, attempting to physically merge into T-chan, though their hug. "I wanted to come and hold your hand and tell you that everything would be okay." he whispered softly.

"That is touching. Impractical, but touching." Treize smiled down at him. "The verbal dancing that you have done both reassure me and not lie would have been breathtaking."

Treize leaned his weight on his left arm, freeing up his right hand for the important task of unbuttoning his shirt. As he undid each button, he kissed the chest that was showing beneath it. Treize was very thankful that Duo was only wearing a loose denim shirt, it made undressing him so much easier. Duo whimpered when he felt Treize's lips touch his chest. He gasped when Treize nudged the shirt aside and attacked his nipple. The small nips that he felt sent his desire higher and he writhed on the bed, moaning loudly. Treize transferred his attention to his other nipple, playing with gently as his fingers pinched its mate. Duo clutched at his hair and made the oddest noise, a cross between a scream and a mew. After a few minutes of this Duo tugged Treize's head up and wiggled down the bed, afraid that if Treize continued his attentions he'd come in his pants. Duo kissed Treize deeply, stabbing his tongue into his mouth, seeming to try and swallow him whole. He frantically ripped at Treize's shirt wanting to feel him against him. he' s been hungry for his touch, the smell of him, his presence. He felt Treize gasp against his mouth as his fingertips found his nipples and gently stroked them. They hardened under his touch, causing Treize to moan loudly in his mouth, then start to kiss down the side of his neck, nibbling and sucking on his skin, getting drunk on the feel and taste of Duo. It had been too long and he'd spent too many nights worried about Duo. He needed to take him now. To feel him around him, to lose himself in the warmth and life that was his lover. He fumbled lower, unfastening Duo's pants and pulling them down. Duo helped, toeing off his boots and wiggling with abandon so that Treize could pull off his pants. He fumbled trying to get Treize's pants off him, but he was shaking so hard he could hardly undo the buttons.

Treize smiled and quickly took off his pants, amused that Duo was so gone in his passion that he couldn't see straight. As they both lost their pants, Duo started uttering little whimpers and shaking. Treize started slowly rocked back and forth, moaning when his erection rubbed across Duo's. Duo arched and moaned back, clutching Treize harder. "Make love to me, like nothing else matters." he begged.

"Nothing else matters, but you right now. We are the only two people in the Universe." Treize replied, kissing him. Duo moaned and opened his legs, wordlessly begging the bigger man to take him. He didn't care if he was ready or not, he wanted to feel T-chan deep inside him, filling him and taking away all the empty spaces inside of his soul and his heart.

"Shh my sweet, shhh." Treize soothed him, wondering if he could let go of Duo long enough to get the bath oil in the other room. He didn't think that Duo had anything with him, since he was missing the usual pack he carried on his visits. Also looking into Duo's glazed eyes and yearning body, Treize doubted that Duo could tell him were his pack was, if he had brought it with him. It was difficult, but he managed to heave himself away from Duo, dragging his reluctant body away from the boy, and stumbling into the bathroom, trying not to falter from the keen of loneliness that Duo made.

He was back in a second, his own body screaming at him to take Duo right now, no matter if he was prepared on not. Treize controlled himself with difficulty and rejoined Duo in the bed, slowly pouring oil down the front of him, watching him gasp as the cold liquid hit his skin and then trailed ticklingly down his body. After a second Treize trailed his fingers through the oil and then delicately tickled his way down Duo's firm stomach and around his cock to probe at the small rosebud that interested him at this moment. Duo wailed and clutched at the sheet, writhing at the sensations that were going through his body. He unconsciously hitched his hips closer to Treize, practically impaling himself on the fingers that were trying to gently stretch him.

"Shh Duo, my love, my sweet. I don't want to hurt you. You can wait, only a moment and then I'm yours."

"Now...please...love me...I want you...please!" Duo cried brokenly, arching upwards, searching for something, he couldn't tell what.

Treize leaned down and kissed him, slowly removing his fingers. Duo moaned and then sighed when Treize's fingers were replaced with something else, gently probing at him. Duo moaned, shifted and then suddenly wrapped his legs around Treize's waist and forced him inside from the strength of his legs. The both cried out, Treize in amazement at the feelings that being joined with Duo gave him. He held still for a moment, letting Duo adjust to him inside. Duo gasped for a few moments, glad that one of them had the presence of mind to hold back and kept the damage at a minimum, he was pushing to the limits of what he could stand. With a soft cry, he started to rock, wrapping himself around Treize, again trying to merge with him, covering him with kisses wherever he could reach, hands stroking ceaselessly, trying to memorize the feel of him.

Treize kissed Duo deeply, maneuvering him so that he was gentle rocking Duo, hitting that small piece of him that caused his nerves to sing and moan. Duo threw his head back, engulfed in the sensations that T-chan being deep inside of him caused. It took only a few strokes before he tensed and screamed, covering T-chan and himself with his seed. Treize came a thrust or two later, driven over the edge by Duo's scream.

As Treize came back onto his mind, he realized the Duo was still clutching at him and kissing his chest. Treize attempt to move, stopped by Duo softly voiced, "Don't."

"I won't, then." Treize said softly, tilting his head down and kissing Duo deeply. Treize felt himself gradually soften and reluctantly withdrew from Duo, disturbed over the soft cry of loss that he gave. He frowned at the slight traces of blood that he found on himself. "Duo...?"

"I'm afraid." #Don't be angry. I didn't feel it. I'll heal. Just love me. Don't let go.#

"I'm not going to disappear the instant you let me go," Treize comforted him.

"I know that, but my heart refuses to believe it. I don't want you to leave like all the others." was Duo's mumbled reply. Treize shifted so he that was lying on the bed with Duo on top of him, cuddling him closer. He idly undid Duo's braid to let his hair cascade over the two of them. Duo snuggled down further, trying to have his entire body touching Treize's. "I know that's silly and childish..." Duo's voice trailed off as Treize kissed him into silence.

"I love you Duo. I know that you love me too. And you are afraid because everyone that you've loved has died. You are not being silly or selfish." Treize reassured him. #You've been hurt so often, I surprised that you let yourself fall in love with me.#

"I'm sorry." #T-chan, what were worse then the dreams about you, were the nightmares. The ones that told me that you were dead. Or that you didn't want me any more.#

"About what? That you left with Wufei that night? You didn't lie to me and tell me that everything would be fine. You didn't know what would happen. And you never lied to me about anything, so you weren't going to lie to me about that. I know that what you are doing is needed. I understand that your sense of responsibility will not let you give me what you want to. I worried about you, but I was never angry at you." #I just don't have to like it. I hate it because it's you, more then anything. The others I just think of it as a tragedy, a waste of what they might be. For you it tears at me because it's draining the life out of you.#

"Thank you," was Duo's whispered reply. "I can't choose between you and the colonies. I was so tired. I still am. I'm torn, I don't want to hurt you. You've been hurt enough, by the Federation and other people."

"Duo, the way things are now, we are never going to meet in battle. I understand what you are doing. We have time." #Your ghosts and your guilt demands that you see this through. I understand that. The specters that haunt me are the same. People I've killed, lives I've ruined mistakes that I made. We are both bound by our pasts to finish this to the end, even if it kills us or not.#

"Do we?" Duo asked sadly. #Time, just stolen moments, not the rest of our lives together. I want to leave this. To stop fighting. I want it to be you and me on a far off place that has never heard of OZ or Gundams. But that's never going to happen, because I can't stop fighting. I won't put someone else though this hell I call a life. And you won't let go to have the Romafellers ruin the dream you have. We are both too obsessed with the thought of not having someone else suffer.#

"We have now. And how long can you stay?" Treize asked. #Let me comfort you and spoil you. Give you good memories to keep you going, to have you endure the others distrust and your loneliness. #

"A couple of days. Quatre is going to have me meet the rest of them in the Sank Kingdom. I don't know what their reaction is going to be. I know that they don't trust me. They shouldn't." Duo mumbled and then yawned. "Suddenly I'm wiped."

"Could it be that we were just rolling around like a pair of crazed cats? Could that have something to do with it?" Treize asked drolly, fighting back his own yawns. #Why shouldn't they? You are in this fix because of them, whether they believe it or not. Your controllers thought that you were pawns to be moved and used in this game, not realizing that you have feelings and needs. I am no better then they are, but I know that people were dying for me, not things.#

"Don't wanna to sleep. I want to be awake the entire time..."Duo protested as his voice dropped off and his eyes closed. Treize threw the cover over the both of them, cuddling Duo close as he slept, hoping that his presence would chase away any bad dreams that he had.

He was dreaming, he had to be. He was swimming though a sea of warm chestnut, engulfed in its warmth and security. Treize dreamed of this often, when Duo wasn't with him, covered in the silkiness of his hair and the pleasure of his being there in bed with him. They had too few moments that they were together. Treize woke up slightly as he felt Duo's hair move and felt the ghosts of kisses that he was covering his body with. Treize sighed and wiggled, enjoying the feelings of desire that were growing within him slowly. Duo moved up his chest slowly, centimeter by centimeter, covering him in soft kisses and gentle caresses. He stopped when he reached Treize's mouth and slowly covered it with his own, shyly almost, slipping his tongue between his teeth.

"Mmmm...Duo" Treize moaned. "Don't...."

"I won't" was the husky reply. "Let me love you..."

"Always," Treize replied, opening his eyes to look into Duo's. "Forever. No matter what. I will be yours." Duo glowed at that simple declaration.

"I love you."

"I've known that for a while. I've reveled in the knowledge and feared that it would break you." #If something happens to me, I don't think that you'd last long. You'd follow me, because it hurts too much to be left behind all the time. And I fear that because you have so much ahead of you, even if you don't believe it. #

"You've given yourself to Death, do you really want that?" Duo asked sadly.

"You are Shinigami, but death is not evil. You are needed sometimes. And you are so alive, so loving. Death is not a bad thing to belong to if it is you." Treize reassured him. "Love me. Claim me."

Duo didn't answer him but leaned down to steal another shy kiss. Treize returned it, astonished at the gentleness that Duo was showing, the opposite of their wild coupling earlier. Duo had faced his fears finally and was showing him his feelings, because he was still afraid to tell him. Treize didn't mind, they had time. Duo knew when words wouldn't do, when he could only show his feelings. Treize acquiesced to his lover's quiet, desperate demand and let him love him.

Duo continued to cover his body with soft ghostly kisses, tantalizing and delicate. Treize moaned, writhing under the faint pressure, wishing that he would press harder. After an endless hazy time when all that mattered to Treize was the feel of Duo lips, hands and hair on his body, he felt Duo stop. Treize blinked at him in his haze, wondering what was wrong. Duo smiled reassuringly and started to gently stroke Treize, oiling his cock so that he could impale himself on it. He wanted to be joined with Treize, to never be separated from him. Treize stopped him and gently drew him down for a kiss.

"Take me." he whispered into Duo's mouth. Duo's eyes widened and he shook his head ëno'. "I trust you. You'll be gentle." he encouraged him.

"Are you sure?" Duo's eyes huge eyes looked at him with love. " I'll stop if it hurts." He promised.

"Duo. It shouldn't hurt. And it would if you let me take you again. I saw the blood. I don't want to hurt you." Treize said softly.

Duo leaned over and kissed him again, oiled fingers gently trailing down Treize's body to find what he was looking for. They teased him gently, slowly entering him and then withdrawing, almost tickling him. Treize was almost insane with desire by the time that Duo judged that he had been stretched enough. Treize had almost grabbed Duo and forced the boy to take him, but realized that Duo didn't want to hurt him. It was interesting sensation, giving all the control to Duo. He whimpered with forefillment when Duo slowly entered him, pausing to let him readjust after each inch had been absorbed by Treize. He then thrust gently, finding that small bit of heaven that when he brushed against it, he sent stars flashing in Treize's brain.

Duo whimpered, amazed at the heat that he was feeling. It was so different to take Treize, to be the leader in this waltz. He sighed when he withdrew and groaned when he was welcomed back into the tight heat that was his lover. He never wanted this gentle torture to end. He kept his eyes open, staring into Treize's, watching the look of wonder that appeared in them as his orgasm exploded within him. That was the last sight that he had as his own body responded to Treize's joy. His vision greyed out and when he could think again he was still in Treize and being engulfed by his arms.

"Thank you Duo," Treize whispered in his ear, "I want to know how it felt, when the person loved you."

Duo tilted his head up and looked into his eyes. "Now you know how it feels, you make me feel like that every time, no matter what. You have given me something that I can't describe."

"I understand, because you have given me the same gift." Treize said, gently caressing his face. Duo shifted and gently withdrew, gratified that Treize just sighed as he left him. He was still terrified that he had hurt him. Treize wiggled a little with a thoughtful look on his face.

"You were right, it does feel like good. I should do this more often."

Duo buried his head in Treize's chest and giggled. Treize smiled down at him and stroked his back. "I don't hear that enough. You're filled with laughter and I don't see it out of you often enough."

"It was just so funny," Duo replied, looking up at him, after he curled up next to him. "Like it was, oh I don't know, something like a note to Une, ëremind me to be the bottom more often. Is enjoyable like eating coffee ice cream.' ya know?"

"But it is. I never thought that it would be, past experience...." Treize's voice trailed off as Duo hugged him wordlessly.

"If I wasn't enjoying you, do you think that I would let you do that? Or if I didn't trust you..." Duo's voice trailed off as he yawned again and threw the blanket over the two of them. Treize wrapped his arms around Duo as they dozed off, content in the afterglow.

Duo roused himself from the circle of his lover's arms to listen closer to the reports that had been filtering in during the time that they had been lost in each other. T-chan wasn't as cut off as he thought. He still could observe everything that was going on, just couldn't do anything. Must be driving him insane. Duo was starting to get alarmed at the steady stream of Romafeller troops that were surrounding the building that they were in. It seemed that a battle was going to be fought right above their heads. Lovely. The Pro-Treize troops were either making their last stand above them or trying to get T-chan out of here. They would be very surprised if they broke in and found Duo here with T-chan. Duo and Treize sat up and started over to the desk, settling down to listen to the reports. It didn't look like it was going to be pretty.

"Romafeller Foundation really wants to get rid of you." Duo remarked wryly, leaning over his shoulder to watch the monitor, at the vast amount of Mobile Dolls that were gathering outside. "New model too. I think that they are called Virgos."

"My death is needed to stop the rebellion in OZ and to stop the war, I am sure of it." Treize said quietly.

"How are you sure?" Duo demanded, surprised that he sounded so reasonable when there was a voice in the back of his mind screaming ëNO! NO! NO!'

"I'll tell you later, I experimented with something that I shouldn't have to get that information." Treize replied, a haunted look in his eyes. "Also Romafeller seems to be targeting the Sank Kingdom also for harboring some of the Pro-Treize troops. They want to wipe the board clean of their enemies." #They want to purge everyone that opposes them. It isn't any different then it was thirteen years ago. Why did I think they would change?#

"They won't with the Sank Kingdom, the rest of the pilots are there. Whether Relena likes it or not, they will fight to save her. She's too important even though she's a pain." Duo said firmly. "Also Treize Kushrendra is the one that has to die, not you T-chan."

"We both might have to die Duo. I'm sorry, but that is a fact." #I don't want to leave you, but I might have to. I am not lying to you about that. And even though you want me to, you will prefer it if I tell the truth.#

"Just don't do anything stupid." Duo pleaded, aware that not three meters away was the bed that they had spent the last several hours making love in. "I have the deed to that cabin. Une owns it now. She doesn't know it though. Just go there if the war ends and you're still breathing. The name on all the ID is Trevor Solo. There's enough ID to give you a new start, plus all the accounts that I set up. You survive, you have few years before you have to worry about stuff. More if you invest it. I have a lot on money stashed away, thanks to OZ"

"Duo. Thank you." Treize's voice was quiet. "I will try to survive, I told I wanted a life with you after this war. No matter who wins." #No mention of yourself, my sweet. It really wouldn't be worth it if you're not there with me. You don't think that you'll survive this do you?#

"Thank you. I'm just worried that the Maxwell luck will catch up with you. Everyone that I have loved died in an icky, spectacular manner. I don't want to add you to that list."

"Don't worry about that. Just concentrate on getting yourself through this war." Treize replied tenderly, kissing him on top of his head. "You're on the front line doing stupid things more then I am."

"It's a Gundam pilot thing." Duo teased back, uncomfortable suddenly with the emotions that were dancing around them. #Oh God T-chan. How could I have told you how much I love you without worrying about my luck or my friends or your position. How can you tell me that you love me, after finding out all the terrible things that I did to survive?#

Duo stared at the screen, noticing that the Treize troops were rapidly falling to the Mobile Dolls. " I'm sorry T-chan. This shouldn't be happening. War is evil, rotten and disgusting. Mobile Dolls don't show the Romafellers that. And they're slaughtering your men like they would animals. And we just watch."

"There is something that I can do. I have a mobile suit and I'm going to use it." Treize declared running to the door. He barely stopped long enough to grab clothes and dress. Duo rushed after him, fumbling with his own clothes, trying to stop T-chan from doing something really stupid and suicidal.

"Damn it! Stop!" Duo screamed, trying to pull on his pants and braid his hair at the same time. "Don't just run out on me! Explain what the Hell is going on!"

#Shit T-chan do not pull a Heero Yuy on me. ëCause you may hate me afterwards, but I will stop you from self destructing. So explain. I don't think that the Romafellers would let you take a suit into arrest with you, so you have something that they don't know about. And you're going to tip your hand to save a couple dozen soldiers that are willing to die for you. That's the man I fell in love with.#

Duo was still talking to himself when he bumped into the back of Treize, They were standing in what looked like a library.

"I've something to show you Duo. This machine that I had built is what I thought was the next step in mobile suit production. I was wrong. But it's still here and I'm going to use it to save those men." Treize said quietly.

"Not you, me." Duo replied firmly. "I'm the better pilot, I've seen more real action then you have recently. I also have the advantage of experience. I've fought against the Mobile Dolls more. And you can't sneak to save yourself, it's not in you. Just show me what it's got and I going to save those guys. Don't argue- we don't have time."

Treize stared, cursed and nodded. Duo was right. He had more time against the mobile dolls and his tactics were sneakier, which was what was needed in this situation. Duo was a professional, no matter what anyone thought about him. If Treize had been the better person for this operation, Duo would have stayed behind. He would have screamed a lot, but would have stayed behind.

"Epyon will increase your response time against the Dolls. But it has some side effects in battle that I found out. You not only will see who is your enemy, but who might be your enemy. It gives you answers that you don't want to know to questions that shouldn't be asked." Treize quietly explained Epyon's functions to Duo, as he ran through a very quick warm up and was ready to blast off, when Treize stopped him.

"Duo, I love you." Treize said quietly. "Don't let this monster of a machine get to you. It's not friendly like Shinigami, Epyon is hostile to its user. Come back to me. Don't fight to win, just get as many of those men out of there as possible. Winning is what drives you insane."

"T-chan, I love you. And I am already insane. Just let me try and save lives instead of killing them." Duo asked, tears coming to his eyes. This was not fair! He shouldn't to do this to T-chan. He was going to go through hell before Duo got back and then hate himself if something happened. Treize kissed him hard and climbed out of the cockpit. Duo waved and took off.

Duo waded into battle with his usual glee. It had been too long. And he was trying to save something, not destroy it. That was enough to make him laugh with joy. At first it wasn't bad, the fighting wasn't too heavy and he did mange to buy enough time for the troops to retreat to the Sank Kingdom. It wasn't much, but they had a better chance there then facing the waves of dolls that Romafellers were dumping on them. Then he noticed it. His response time was speeding up, he had a faster reaction time then the Dolls it seemed. And then the hallucinations started.

The screen melted and a sharp pain just shot through his head. Duo screamed and clawed at the helmet, trying to get it off him. Then it started. At first there was only one. A tiny dancing Shinigami. Then he split into dozens of the bloody things, all moaning at him. If he concentrated he could make out what they were saying, but he knew that it would be a bad thing if that happened. Whatever they wanted to tell him, he didn't want to know. He shouldn't know. So he screamed some more in his head and when he stopped screaming he found out that an hour had passed. And there was nothing left standing within five miles of his position. He had gone berserk in Epyon when the hellish machine had whispered its poison in his ear. And he remembered all of what the damn thing had told him. All of it. It lay in the back of his mind, ready to jump out at the worse possible moment. Aside for the oblivious thing that he was his own worse enemy. He didn't need a machine to tell him that.

Thankfully Luxembourg was still standing and the Romafellers had paid more attention to the Sank Kingdom then himself. Duo pulled himself together and managed to make it back to T-chan without too much trouble. He landed, almost on top of T-chan, his control slipping at the last minute. T-chan waited for him to very shakily climb out of the cockpit and collapse at his feet before he gathered Duo in his arms and cried.

"Duo, I'm so sorry. You shouldn't have had to do that. I shouldn't have been a coward. I couldn't face my demons in that machine and you had to suffer for it." Treize scooped Duo up and carried him into the bedroom, cradling him tenderly. He noticed that Duo had bitten his lips a lot and there were dried tears on his face. His body and hair were soaked, as if he had been swimming.

"T-chan," Duo said hoarsely, he had screamed his lungs out more then once, he thought. It hadn't all been in his mind. "I survived. You survived. How many got away before I lost control?"

"All of the survivors, about twenty or so. They made it to the border unscathed and were escorted further in by a Taurus." Treize reported. "Sleep my sweet. I'll wake you in a little while with some tea."

Duo murmured at this, already falling asleep as Treize stripped him of his clothing. Treize made no effort to lock himself in. If the Romafellers were looking for him, they had the keys. He didn't care about anyone else. He curled up beside Duo, gathering the boy in his arms. He was surprised that Duo seemed to sleep peacefully the first hour or so that he watched him before he dropped off himself.

Treize woke up and gently disentangled himself from Duo. It was like sleeping with an octopus at times, between the hair and the fact that Duo did not want to let him go. He didn't want to leave himself, but if he didn' t there was going to be another wet spot on this bed and not in a good way. Treize made his way to the bathroom, and afterwards splashed water on his face in an effort to wake up. Duo hadn't quite exhausted him, but it was damn close. The battle and worry about him fighting on top of that didn't help.

Treize was going over the reports from the Sank Kingdom when he felt a movement at his back. He cursed the fact that his pistol was beside the bed with Duo's. After the first week here, he always had it within reach. He usually wasn't paranoid, but it didn't pay to take chances. He went to stand up to grab his pistol, when a large hand came down on his shoulder and pinned him to the chair.

"Treize, Koibito. It's been a long time." purred a familiar voice in his ear.

"Zechs or is it Mirialdo? You do seem to switch back and forth between the two." Treize asked in a lazy manner, that tried to cover the panic buttons that were going off in his head. His instincts told him that the other pilot was trouble. Duo curled up naked on his bed didn't help. Ex-lovers never wanted to know that they have been replaced. His last experience with Mirialdo had been painful physically and mentally. He didn't think that he could repeat that. Not after Duo.

Duo woke up, trying to fight his way through the cotton batting that was surrounding his brain. There was someone else in the room, but he was too strung out to recognize the voice. It was low and rumbly, with the same aristocratic accent that T-chan had. Okay that meant that it could be anyone from the Romafeller Foundation to one of Relena's supporters. He'd wait and hope that nothing went wrong because the way that he felt, he couldn't hit the broad side of a barn.

"But I thought that was what you liked about Lady Une and I. Our dual natures because of the feelings that we had for you. It was those feelings that resulted in Une getting shot on the moon base. She's been transferred to the Balji and is in a coma."

Duo cracked his eyes opened slightly. That was news to him. he hoped that Une was going to be okay, cause T-chan needed her. She was practically his other half. Just couldn't be more then good friends. He really couldn't seewho it was, because the room was so dark. The monitor was flickering, it had gone into screen saver mode, so the guy had been here a while. He was leaning over T-chan and they were kissing noisily. He had tipped back the chair and was leaning over T-chan trying to see if he had all his teeth with his tongue. T-chan wasn't fighting it, but Duo sensed a tension in his body that suggested that he wasn't enjoying the attentions of the other man. The long light hair gave Duo the clue about their unannounced visitor. It was Relena's brother, Mirialdo. T-chan's ex-lover. Duo's heart stopped for a second and he almost sobbed until he realized that no matter what Mirialdo thought about stepping back into T-chan's life, T-chan wasn't happy about it. The body language screamed that fact to Duo.

Mirialdo stopped kissing T-chan, but still kept the chair tipped back so that he could tower above him. The look on his face was neutral, leaning towards hostile. He was not happy about the lack of cooperation from his ex-lover. He thought that Treize would be overjoyed to see him again, they had been together for a while. But breaking in and seeing that street rat of a Gundam pilot peacefully sleeping in bed was infuriating. And Mirialdo could guess why he was asleep. The entire room smelled of sex. Treize still kept that kurva around. And how did Duo manage to sneak in here? He couldn't be that good at anything besides spreading his legs.

"I see you kept that little bastard in your bed. Honestly Treize, he is street trash. You replaced me with a cheap whore. Were you that desperate? Or is he actually that good? He is beautiful, but...."

"Mirialdo, what do you want?" Treize interrupted calmly. "You lost the right to govern my actions or care about who was in my bed when you walked out on me. I never complained when you and Noin were together."

Mirialdo started at the mention of Noin's name. He didn't think that Treize had known about them. But it might have been hard to hide since Lucrecia just glowed when he was around.

#So the someone you've allied with is the Gundam scientists, who are about the only people that know about Duo's past. That means that they've joined White Fang with you. But what do you want now? I don't think that it was love for me that brought you back here.# Treize thought, quickly considering and discarding several plans of action to get away from Mirialdo. Nothing that he could do would get him away from Mirialdo fast enough without causing the man to hurt Duo.

That Mirialdo thought that he would be waiting for him eagerly showed how little the other man understood him, after all the time that they had been together. Or that he was forgetting very conveniently the last few months that they had been together. He'd always been good at forgetting those things that were inconvenient to him, as shown with his obsession with dueling Heero Yuy and rebuilding TallGeese.

"I want that prototype that is sitting in the courtyard. You made it for me and I'm claiming it as mine." Mirialdo growled. "You may have let him fly it, but you made it for me." #I need that suit to escape. TallGeese is scrap now from the fighting. I think that little bastard Yuy enjoyed shooting at me.#

"I made it for myself actually. Mirialdo. You may think that you could have been the test pilot, but you lost that chance when you went into space as my enemy. You had finally pushed the Foundation too far with your personal fight with Heero and I couldn't protect you anymore. Not that I wanted to after our last encounter. Did forcing me make you feel any more powerful? Any more secure?"

"Submissive. That's what you wanted." Mirialdo taunted him, ignoring his questions. "He is willing to lie back and get fucked by the great man. So you were willing overlook the fact that he's been had by almost anyone stationed in the L2 sector for the price of a meal and water."

"Considering how expensive water is in L2 the colonies, that is a lot. But aside from the stupidity that you are indulging in right now of angering me by questioning my taste in lovers, what are your plans?" Treize asked, fury in his voice. Mirialdo didn't seem to notice it.

#Mirialdo, have you ever been hungry?# Treize raged silently, #Aside from a few nights after the fall of the Sank Kingdom, you have been taken care of by someone in one way or another, be it your father's people, the Academy and then finally OZ. You have never had to scramble for anything that you wanted. You never cared enough to sacrifice yourself to protect someone else. So do not judge a boy that did not have the good fortune to be orphaned from a royal family. And a heart that was willing to make sacrifices for others. #

"I'm going to screw you and then take the Gundam Epyon into Space with me. The Earth is no longer worthy of life. Humans have not learned that war is futile. So I will teach them the error of their ways. You can not change the world into what you once wanted because you allowed yourself to be distracted by that cheap piece of meat that is warming your bed. The last thing that he going to see and hear is you moaning my name as I fuck you up the ass. Then I'm going to kill him." Mirialdo threatened, leaning down to kiss Treize again.

The quiet click of Duo cocking his gun sounded very loud in the room.

"Mirlaldo, step back or I will kill you. Do not touch him again. He doesn't want you to. Live with it. And if you don't think that I am bluffing, ask Dr. G next time you see the bastard how many men I killed. I was their favorite assassin for a while. You'd just be another body that I had to clean up. No more. No less." Duo's tone was quiet and matter of fact. The gun was steady in his hand. Mirialdo looked into his eyes and saw that they were very cold and very hard. They looked harder then the amethysts that they resembled. "If he wanted you, I wouldn't argue about it. But he doesn't seem to be enchanted to see you again so take the damn Gundam and don't let the door hit you on the ass on the way out."

"So the bitch does have claws. I though that all the spirit had been taken from you when you were willing to crawl into bed with the enemy general without a murmur of complaint." Mirialdo observed in amusement, slowly backing out. There would be other times. "Until we meet again Koibito." he said to Treize, his tone taunting, "Did he tell you that it was orders? Or did he actually say that he loved you? "

Duo kept the gun trained on Mirialdo until he was out the door. Treize sat still and allowed Duo to track the bigger man until he was out of sight. He waited a few moments and then made his way to the bed. He was surprised when Duo curled up into a ball and started shaking.

"Thank God he didn't know that I couldn't hit the broad side of a Mobile Suit right now." Duo muttered.

"Thank you. I let my guard down. I should have known that he was going to be here." Treize said softly. He put his arm around Duo and relieved when he shifted his position and rested his head on his lap, handing him his gun.

"Why? Because he'd be worried about his sister? I really doubt that. Or because Epyon called to him? It wasn't like I was actually discreet out there. Do you know how much damage I caused? I hope that I didn't kill anyone that got caught between the two forces. He's welcome to the bloody machine. He's brain is la-la enough that it won't notice the blasted thing whispering to him." Duo spat out. His voice softened, an uncertain note coming into it. "I hate to ask this, but I am feeling a little uncertain here...do you still want a relationship with him? You guys have a history that I can't match. I don't think you do, but I don't own you."

Duo looked up at Treize with bright eyes, soft and caring. And guilty. He felt like a fool for asking that question, but it had to be done, because if it wasn't it might ruin what they had. He was hanging on to himself by his fingertips and he could feel himself slipping. T-chan rejecting him would be the final blow.

Treize smiled down at him. Duo had every right to ask that question, considering what Mirialdo had been doing to him before Duo intervened. And a little uncertain was fine. Duo had just gotten his brains scrambled by Epyon and did have a slight problem with confidence about himself. He didn't think that he was worthy of love because everyone died on him. It happened to some people and Duo shouldn't think that he was a Jonah because people died on him. But Mirialdo had never looked at him with such honest and selfless love in his life. There had always been a calculated side to their relationship for him.

"Duo I love you. I don't love him. He killed any hope that we had the night he abused me. Walking back into my life like he never left didn't endear him to me either. Now I am going to go brush my teeth because I want to get the taste of him out of my mouth." Treize quietly said, dropping a kiss on the top of Duo's head. "Thank you for protecting my virtue. It needed it because I let him get the drop on me. I got too comfortable."

"Treize. I hate to say this. But I have to leave. They did give me a few days but, I got to tell the others that Epyon exists and that Mirialdo has it. So a shower and then I gotta run." Duo said, his eyes darkening. "I keep walking out on you and that sucks."

"You are leaving me to tell your fellow pilots vital information. That does take back seat to me. I understand that. I'd rather have a long shower so that it would give Mirialdo time to get out of the area. I do not like the way that he was looking at you. You've made an enemy in him my sweet."

"I don't care. He was threatening you." Duo's tone was fierce. "You don't have to put up with that crap from anyone. The worse that he can do is to kill me. That's it. And he's gonna have to better then he did this afternoon ëcause it was pathetic."

"A shower then and off you go. Hopefully you won't run into something that you can't handle, because you still look a little shaky." Treize replied worriedly. Duo did look wobbly. The nap that he took didn't do anything about the side effects of the machine. He wasn't too happy about the information that Epyon had talked to Duo. It didn't effect him that way, but then he didn't go beyond minor simulated skirmishes in the thing. Very different from a full out battle.

But he would let Duo go back to the war, while he was trapped here playing the waiting game. He knew that something had to give and that the tide would turn in the Romafeller Foundation and Treize would again be able to manipulate things to his own advantage. And then it would be to bring this endless bloodshed to an end. He was tired of wondering if his lover would die in battle or be killed during an assignment.

He had enough of the bloodshed and the Mobile Dolls would allow this puppet war to go on forever. Enough was enough. He had to wait, gather his strength and then strike back at his ex-lover. Treize wondered when his life had started to fall apart, when he ordered the destruction of the Federation doves? When Mirialdo left him to pursue a dream of vengeance for his family in a manner that would horrify his father? Or was it when he kept letting the one good thing in his life, Duo, keep running headlong into battle?

 

Conversations IV

 

"You saw him. How did he look?" Relena asked anxiously.

 

"Not good. And it's not going to get better." Duo replied soberly. "I know that he's your brother, but I think that he's not playing with a full deck."

"Why do you say that?"

"Do you want the gory details? Or can you just trust me with the statement that Mirialdo or Zechs or whatever he wants to call himself now, needs a reality check and if he starts fooling around with Epyon, he's going to need a padded room, because that damn thing is evil."

"This is a scientific and modern age Duo. You can not call an inanimate object evil, like you were some superstitious peasant." Relena laughed lightly, trying to cover the uneasy feeling that Duo's report had invoked. She was upset that Une was hurt and on Balji she couldn't go to her. While Une may think of their affair as nothing more then a physical release, Relena did love her. Not that she wanted to settle down with her, but she was something that she needed right now.

"It fucks with your mind. Hard, fast and no lube." Duo said, his eyes haunted. "It hurts you. I don't know what your brother is going to see or hear from the damn thing, but it's evil. T-chan was nuts when he made that thing."

"T-chan? You call him T-chan. That is priceless." Relena laughed, but was blushing at Duo's language. He usually was very careful around her, Epyon must have shaken him more then he realized to make him forget who he was talking to that much.

"And what are you going to do with that information? Does the great pacifist have ulterior motives?" Duo asked embarrassed. Hell he had no secrets anymore, but that was slip that he really hadn't wanted to make.

"What do you think I'm going to do with that information? I'm going to blackmail him with it sometime in the future." Relena said, giving Duo a hug.

"Why?" Duo asked, "Your sitting high now, Queen of the World. Take the offer and see what happens. Dermail must be worried if he's willing to offer you that."

Relena laughed again. It was harsher and older sounding then her first one. Relena looked at Duo, her eyes cynical. "They hope to control me. They think I'm young and foolish. It was a mask, like your clown one. I may not be as smart as I think I am, but I know that they made this offer because they couldn't destroy me. So after you all make your narrow escape into space, I'll accept their offer. I had a hard time convincing Quatre that I would be alright."

"He's a nice guy, one that worries a lot, with a ton of sisters." Duo said. "And he bought what you were selling earlier. Chasing Heero was a good cover. I bought it myself."

"It was a hobby. And it annoyed Wufei to no end." Relena smiled wickedly. "I would have been at a loss if Heero actually responded to anything that I was offering. And it did convince the Romafellers that I was harmless."

Duo gave Relena a quick hug. "Take care. And if ya can..."

"I'll watch for T-chan. You take care of Une if you see her." Relena blushed a little. "Tell her I love her. And that I'll watch out for her Treize-sama."

Duo's jaw dropped. "You and Lady Une?" he managed to squeak out. He took a deep breath and continued, "Good. 'Neesan needed someone."

"It's not like Trowa and Quatre. Or may be Heero and Wufei. We're just passing the time." Relena said shaking her head. She didn't mention Treize. That romance was tragic, touching and seemingly doomed and she wondered if they would both be able to survive the war. She doubted it. Someone was going to pay the price for playing this game and she had a sinking feeling it would be them.

"It's something," Duo informed her passionately. "It might not be forever, grow old, have children relationship, but it's a warmth that you need right now. Don't knock it."

 

Notes: #...# indicates thoughts/thinking.

 

 

Dangerous Liaisons by Christine

Part Thirteen

 

Interlude IX

PeaceMillion. Duo sighed. He'd stopped by here quickly, months ago while the other pilots scattered to the four corners of space. It was only on Quarte's insistence that Howard gave him back Shinigami at all. Howard had been ready to space him rather then talk to him. God knows what the Docs told him. Or what he remembered from Duo's first couple of months with them. So he just took his mate and left, doing hit and run raids out on the fringes of Space on Romafeller convoys. It wasn't much, but the other pilots didn't seem to trust him enough to work with them any closer.

Trowa trusted him, as much as he trusted any of them, which was outside Quatre not at all. Quatre seemed to pity him a little, but wasn't willing to work with him, for his own reasons. Wufei and Heero ignored him. He shouldn't feel hurt, they seemed to be ignoring each other too. But it did hurt. He was lonely. Wufei went back to his colony to study, get refitted and receive his new orders. God knows what Heero was doing, but Quatre seemed to be helping him with it. Duo checked in once in a while with them, he was still reluctantly welcomed at the Winner holdings. He usually checked in when he was near one of them, when he was low on supplies and needed repairs. He really didn't want to hang around any of them. There wasn't much difference between being alone and being on a Winner Satellite.

After a few months alone he was told to return to the PeaceMillion, things were coming to a head. He figured that was true, Gundam was becoming a symbol of the rebellion of space from the Earth, but the one that was leading the charge was Mirialdo in Epyon. Duo idly wondered from time to time, whether the other man's arrogance had turned him into raving maniac a yet from exposure to that machine. It usually happened late at night, when he woke up in the middle of the night from his nightmares. He missed T-chan so much, but couldn't afford to sneak down to see him. Quatre said that he couldn't and Quatre was in charge. That was a strange twist. Heero was the one that Duo would have bet on for taking over operations once contact with the scientists were cut off. Not Quatre. Wufie was a may be, but he freelanced too much. Trowa was definite no vote and most of them wouldn't have trusted him to plan a party, never mind a battle. And that was before they caught him with T-chan.

Duo radioed for landing clearance and didn't miss the reluctance that it was given. The voice sounded familiar, but he couldn't place it. And he didn't miss Howard's not very quiet background comment of "I hoped the Romafellers or White Fang had taken care of the little shit." before he cut the transmission off. He was tempted to leave again but Quatre said come back, so he did. Howard's attitude hurt more then he would have thought. But then their relationship was a business one more then anything, so why should he be upset that the guy sided with Dr. G on his opinion of him? Because he had been a friend once, when he was first on Earth and none of this shit had started. When he thought that the operation would be over in a couple of months and he could lose himself on Earth, be a new person. Forget his past and the killings. And now he sided with the assholes that got him in this mess on their opinion on him.

He was still musing about this, not looking forward to the staying here any length of time, when Quatre ambushed him with a gigantic hug as soon as he was off of Shinigami. He buried his head in his shoulder and was relieved that someone seemed happy to see him, even if it was Quatre. He looked up to see Heero staring at him coldly. So nothing much had changed there, he just hoped that Heero wouldn't whip out his gun and shoot him once Quatre got out of the way.

Quatre was burbling something in his ear, speaking too fast for him to understand, but the general gist of it was that he was happy to see him.What a surprise, he thought that Quatre would be happy to see the Devil if he showed up.

"Quatre, you look good." Duo said quietly not wanting to make a scene, it wasn't worth it, "And thanks for the hospitality while I was wandering around." He tried not to sound too sarcastic. "Every sister that I have run into says 'Hi. Take care of yourself. And Trowa should get lots of hugs.' And they are all okay." Quatre lit up even more, than Duo thought was possible from this message and hugged him again. Duo laughed, "No Trowa, not me. The tall guy with the green eyes, 'kay?"

"That was a thank you for putting up with my sisters. They worry. And fuss. And thank you for coming back. I know that it isn't easy." #How lonely were you out there? I'm sorry that I didn't let you come back sooner, but I still don't trust you. And it won't be something that you'd consciously do to betray us, it will be something that will just happen, because I don't know if you can chose between us and Treize Khushrendra.#

"Quatre. Your sisters were great. And well, Howard bein' a jerk is his own problem." Duo reassured him trying to keep the mask up, before turning his attention to Heero. He might as well tease him before the psycho shot him.

"Hello Heero," Duo teased him. "It's good to see you. I think that Quatre is so happy because I open my mouth and this thing called speech comes out. Not like you and his snuggle bunny."

"I do speak on occasion, Duo." Trowa said behind him. "And I am not his 'snuggle bunny' I prefer the term, 'Harlequin of love'."

Duo laughed and whirled to Trowa a half hug. He couldn't resist it. Trowa actually made a joke within hearing of someone besides Quatre or his sister Catherine. Trowa stiffened, but didn't pull away, willing to put up with Duo's teasing. He figured Duo had been lonely during his time out on the fringes. He'd gotten his own reports back from Quatre's people. Duo had been well behaved, polite; the perfect guest everywhere he'd gone, even though Quatre's sisters had treated him coldly. Aside from the habit of wandering around the house at night, afraid to sleep or too keyed up to relax . He accepted that someone was usually trailing behind him during those jaunts and didn't mind. He seemed to have liked the company, in fact, but Trowa could never figure out what was going on anymore, Duo had gotten to good at hiding himself..

"Just need Wufei and things would be happy and jolly." Duo said. "He's here isn't he? He didn't do something bad after watching..." Duo let his voice trail off. He had heard that Wufei's colony had blown themselves up rather then get taken by Romafeller forces. That Wufei had to watch it really sucked. He hoped that the other boy was okay. As okay as someone who just watched their life disappear in front of them could be.

"Wufei's here." Quatre said quietly. "He doesn't say much."

"It's probably still hittin' him." Duo said quietly, his eyes dark. "It takes a while to realize that your whole world is destroyed. When the crash happens...."

Quatre looked at him with a small frown on his face. He opened his mouth to ask a question, when Duo loudly cut him off. "So's watcha need me for?"

"It's coming to an end." Heero said. Duo didn't have to ask what he was talking about.

"Hopefully." Duo agreed. "So you trust me enough now to fight with you?"

"It was never a matter of trust." Quatre explained in hurt voice. "I just didn't want you angry with me."

"And I would be mad at you why?" Duo asked cautiously. #What'd Quatre do that would make me mad at him?That I would get angry about what had happened. I am, but I'm too numb to deal with it anymore. That he actually jumped T-chan? Yeah, right. Want me to jump T-chan? That's my hormones and other things speaking. Trust was an issue Quatre, whether you realized it or not. You couldn't trust me until now, so you sent me where I would be out of the way or under the watchful eye of someone that you trusted.# Duo ran though a list of things that would make Quatre think that he'd be angry with him. He couldn't figure out what it would be. He was floored by the answer.

"I modified Wing with the same system that Epyon has. We needed the edge." he said guiltily. He had listened to Duo's description of what that had been like, but they needed the information that the ZERO system gave them. They couldn't let Zechs get an edge on them.

"Fuck me." Duo groaned. Heero just stared at him. That explained why Quatre was looking like shit and why Heero seemed to have less personality then usual. What were those two seeing when they climbed into that machine. Heero may be using it full time, but he would wager that Quatre had taken it out for a test drive or two. And where the hell did they get the specs?

"Duo?" Quatre asked in a small voice. #It had to be done. I don't know what Heero's seeing in there, but you were right it is evil. And it wasn't showing me the future, but a bunch of what might have beens.#

"I am mad at you." Duo replied tiredly. "Why do you think I wouldn't be angry with you when the two of you would be playing with what little sanity Heero has?"

"I was the best person for the program. We decided that. I had the best grasp on my emotions and wouldn't be fooled by the machine." Heero said in a monotone. "You had problems because...."

"Heero, you can handle it, but at what cost? When's the last time you talked to Wufei? Have you talked to him since or about his colony self destructing in front of him?" Duo interrupted him. #I will kill you if you start on me, because you may be the best person here for that thing, but I still think that it is evil and will rot your brain.#

"What does that have to do with anything?" Heero asked in confusion.

"If you have to fucking ask, don't bother me. I'll visit you and Zechs in the crazy Gundam pilot home every Sunday." Duo snarled. "I'm tired. I want to see where I'm sleeping, stow my stuff and sleep. I don't want to listen to you bitch at me because I'm not you and I think that the ZERO system bites."

Quatre shook his head and sighed. It had gone better then he thought with Duo, but the blow up might happen when the other pilot had more energy. And when he found out that Lucrecia Noin and Sally Po were on board. The tension between Miss Noin and Duo had been visible in the Sank Kingdom for some reason. She didn't like him for some reason and Duo couldn't figure it out. Duo just was wary around Sally. He thought that she might still be mad at him for stealing her patient and blowing a hole in her hospital. Trowa silently fell in behind Duo as Quatre lead him to where the sleeping quarters were. Howard hadn't wanted to give him anything, but Quatre had insisted. He would really like to know what Howard had against Duo. Heero wanted Duo sleeping with someone, he still didn't trust him, but Quatre wasn't going to ruin what time he had with Trowa by having Duo in the room with them. And trusting Duo was something that Quatre still did, to a certain extent. But he couldn't find anything out about him, nothing, not even a birth date and his loyalties to the cause might not be as firm as they should be because of his involvement with T-chan.

The walk to the pilot's area was silent, Duo not feeling like talking and Quatre wondering what he could ask him without it looking as if he was prying. Trowa just didn't say anything, as usual. Quatre was happy when they arrived at their destination at last. He had felt uneasy about some of the strange looks that Duo had gotten whenever they had passed any of the PeaceMillion's crew.

"Here we are, your own room." Quatre chirped with more perkiness then he felt. "You're between us and Wufei."

"Thanks Quatre, nice of you to care." Duo said tiredly. "Heero and Wufei they still together?"

"They don't appear to be." Trowa said, "but Heero does spend some time with him. I don't think that he knows what he should do.'

"No one does," Duo murmured. "Everything sounds stupid."

Quatre shot him another questioning look, but Trowa shook his head, warning Quatre not to ask questions. Duo would tell him if he wanted to. They didn't know anything about him, but from scattered conversations, something terrible had happened to Duo in the past involving a large number of people of which he had been the only survivor. He might be able to help Wufei.

"We haven't talked to him" Quatre admitted. "He throws stuff at us. Or ignores us."

"S'Okay, not like it hadn't happened before." Duo said quietly. "I'll say hi though. He might want another target."

"If you want to, I just can't help him right now," Quatre said guiltily. #Duo, I'm at the end of my emotional rope being in charge here. You coming back doesn't help and hopefully you will be worth the difficulty, because we can't have a loose cannon. But I couldn't leave you out there wandering on your own and I didn't want to kill you. So please work out.#

"You've been tumbling your brains in the ZERO system, and trying not to have Heero self destruct on you. There's only so much that you can do. I understand that. Where'd you get the plans anyway?" Duo asked, thinking that he might know the answer.

"Treize. Lady Une handed them to me that night." Quatre said, finding the floor very interesting.

"I'll kill him. He knew what it might do to you, and he gave you the plans anyway?" Duo growled.

"The plans were coded and it took us a while to get through them. We really weren't serious about it until after you told us that Epyon had been taken by Zechs. We couldn't have broken it without your report. So if Epyon never had gotten used, we wouldn't have needed to know what was in the disk." Trowa said, worried about the fury in Duo's eyes. What had he seen in that machine that Zechs was piloting. What was he worried about it doing to Heero and Quatre? Duo calmed down after that explanation, slumping against the wall for a second. He sighed, straightened up and keyed his door open.

"I'll forgive him, may be, depending how much damage you take. But such a thing shouldn't exist. And why did Heero get to pilot it? You guys weren't dumb and try an' arm wrestle for the pleasure?" Duo asked teasingly, trying to end the conversation on a better note. Leaving 'em laughing was a good thing. His trademark.

Quatre smiled and Trowa quirked his lips at Duo. He knew why Duo had asked that question. It did look bad that Heero was the one to pilot it, since Quatre was his lover and might be trying to shield him from the side effects of the system. Quatre and he had their worst argument about that. Trowa knew that Heero probably had been the best choice, since he was too emotionally damaged to use it to its full effect. And Quatre was too kindhearted, but he did try it. They had to carry him out of the cockpit. That left Heero, since neither Wufei nor Duo were around to pilot it. If you could have gotten Duo to modify Shinigami that way.

"It was decided that Heero would be the least damaged by the ZERO system, since he was the most emotionally stable one of us at the time. He also had better control of his emotions, he wasn't as 'damaged' as I was. It wasn't like there were a wide range of candidates to choose from." Trowa wryly informed him.

"Okay, but keep any eye on him. You know that it's fucking him, if he's not letting Wufei cry on his shoulder or whatever they do when they are alone. And Wufei's too hurt now to keep him sane. So it's up to you guys, because he doesn't like me. I'm the enemy now. Just don't let him shoot me in me back during combat. It might sound too good for him to pass up." Duo said sadly.

"I understand." Quatre replied. "But I think that you shouldn't be alone, if you go outside this area, I don't trust Howard's people."

"You noticed those looks too?" Duo laughed lightly. "Gettin' better at this Quatre. I'd love to know what Howard was told. And what he told his people. I'll stick to my quarters and hope that I don't get any unexpected guests."

"Duo how can you laugh about it?" Quatre asked, disturbed by Duo's casual attitude about the possible threat of violence in the one place that he should feel safe. He was now seriously thinking of insisting that Duo join him and Trowa at night. He trusted Howard, somewhat, but why was he giving Duo all this trouble now?

"If I didn't, I'd be crying and you don't need that." Duo said soberly as he stepped into his room and closed the door on them. He threw his bag on the bed and headed for the shower area. He wanted one in the worst way. He hadn't been out of Shinigami in a couple of weeks and had been getting ansy. He'd shower, hopefully it would be warm, and then bug Wufei. The others couldn't help him, but he might be able to. It'd be good to be useful again.

Duo closed his eyes and showered quickly, half afraid that Howard would cut the water off when he was soaping his hair. He'd do that for spite. And he ran over what he would tell Wufei, what he had wanted to hear after the Maxwell Church incident and what Wufei would accept. It wasn't like Wufei was into the warm-fuzzy, cry on the shoulder routine. Him and Heero got along so well because they were both stoic school of suffering. And Duo was going to have to combine the two because Wufei needed to cry and get his head together for a while. Then, after they beat Romerfeller and OZ and world peace happened, he could brood in his room and rail against the fates. Duo just hoped that Heero wouldn't shoot him or beat him up for doing this. Well, he'd find out once he did his thing.

Duo dried himself off and got dressed, quickly braiding his wet hair. It wasn't good, but it took forever to dry and he wanted to see Wufei. He hoped that Wufei would talk to him at least because he still might feel odd about the fact that he had been the party crasher on Duo's and T-chan's little love nest. Duo took a deep breath, hoped that things would not blow up in his face and went next door to see if Wufei was willing to let him into his room, even if he didn't want talk to him. He knocked on the door, feeling like a fool. Wufei didn't want to talk to him, he didn't want to talk to anyone probably, but he didn't have the luxury of hurting right now.

"Hey Wufei, could ya let me in 'cause I gotta talk to you." Duo called softly.

"Maxwell I am in no mood." Wufei voice came faintly from the other side of the bulkhead.

"A minute and then I'll leave you alone, 'kay?" Duo asked. Wuei didn't answer but the door slid open to let Duo in. Duo stepped into the darkened room, that smelled faintly of incense.

"Fifty nine seconds." Wufei said coldly.

"There was nothing that you could have done sounds real stupid. So does I'm sorry. But you at least have someone willing to talk to you, so take advantage of it, Wufei." Duo said rapidly, trying to get to Wufei.

"You may not want to talk to me or listen to what I have to say because you think that you can't trust me, but just let me tell you a story about a stupid little kid. Just listen to it and then decide if you want me stay. If you want to talk to me. Since it's just a story I'm gonna start with a nice line, like 'Once upon a time', because after the first line it does go down hill from there. This little kid was real good with his hands. He could fix anything, keep any machine going, Build new ones from scrap practically, which was good because he was living in this broken down area in a broken down colony. This kid lived with a bunch of other children in an orphanage, run by a nice couple. An old priest and a young sister. They loved this kid even though he was bad and didn't always follow the rules. Especially the one that said 'Thou shall not mess with the Feds, for they are evil and quick to smite thee.'

The kid thought that he was immune to these rules because the Feds never caught him messing with their stuff, stealing the spare parts, the suits and ruining the rest. And so it went until the Feds decided that the kid needed to be punished, so when he was out one day they decided to make an example of the orphanage, because there must be rebels there because they have so much trouble with the place. And they bomb it out of existence with everyone the kid ever loved in there. All his little brothers and sisters and the only two people that he remembered as parents, 'cause his died when he was three and he didn't remember them.

And the stupid kid comes back to the hole in the ground, that was where his home, his family, his whole fuckin' world and reason for existence had been, and its all gone. And there was nothing that he could do about it. And it wasn't his fault because he wasn't bigger or faster or smarter then he was. Things like that just happen because people are evil and stupid. The End. And you and I know that there is no happily ever after because things just suck too much."

Duo finished his story with a rush of breath and just looked at Wufei. Wufei looked back at him dry eyed and stoic. Duo mentally sighed was prepared to leave when Wufei sat down and motioned for him to sit on the bed. Duo was surprised when Wufei's voice came out of the darkness, husky with unvoiced sorrows. "There was another part to this tale. A foolish scholar that thought that there was nothing more important then learning and studying. That the Federation would leave him and his alone because they did not bother them. But then one day the foolish scholar received word that the Federation was invading his home. And he did nothing, because he was a scholar and such matters were meant to be handled by warriors and fighters. People who did not respect the written word. And the foolish scholar sat at home while his wife went out in a half finished suit to fight because she believed strongly in the cause. That she was outnumbered didn't matter to her, she was going to fight because that was how things were going to change. They could not be ignored like the foolish scholar hoped that they would be. She fought, she died and her foolish husband decided that taking her place in the fight would be how he honored her memory. They had loved each other, but never felt comfortable about the fact that they were married. But they loved each other and the foolish scholar wanted to honor her in that way.

He was not weak, just foolish and had been trained to fight, but nothing more modern then a sword. But he trained and he fought and he got better. Then he went to Earth to kill those that had killed his wife. He killed many people, not those responsible, but they died and he was satisfied. And then he went home again and to punish this foolish scholar the Federation came again and attacked his home. It was poor and run down by many people's standards, but they were proud. So proud that they decided to kill themselves rather then fall under the jurisdiction of the Romafellers. So they thrust the foolish scholar out into space, told him to fight on and blew themselves up, so that the enemy would die with them. And the foolish scholar watched and could do nothing. And so he survives, out living his family, his people, his wife. Everything that mattered to him. And being able to nothing to save them."

Wufei's voice fell off into the darkness. Duo shifted slightly and laid his hand near Wufei's knee, not saying anything. He couldn't because he was trying not to cry himself, there were too many ghosts in the room with the two of them. If Wufei or him started, the other one would just join in too. So they both sat in silence, until Duo moved again. He grabbed Wufei into an embrace and half wrestled the startled boy to his chest, leaning back on the bed at the same time. Wufei stiffened and fought a little, but didn't want to hurt Duo. He relaxed gradually, listening the sound of Duo's heart underneath his chest. Duo was always been a touching type of person. He'd made an art form out being able to touch people casually. He should have expected that he would be grabbed sometime in this conversation.

"I'm bein' selfish," Duo said at last. Wufei was amused by feeling Duo speak as well as listening to him at the same time. "I wanted someone to do this to me when it happened. You'd never ask for it, so I'm just doing it to you."

"Maxwell." Wufei said softly. "I do not have this overwhelming urge to say that I feel better because you are doing this." #But you are the only person that tried. I think that right now you are the only person that could and that makes whatever trouble that you bring with you worth it to me. Even if it is only for this moment.#

"I know," Duo said softly, starting to slowly rub his back, "Pretend that I'm Heero. I know it's hard, because spandex boy is also Mr. Muscle compared to me, but try. 'Cause I think that he wants to do this, but can't because his brain's turning into Jello and not the sparkling happy kind."

"What is this fascination that you have with food metaphors?" Wufei asked dryly.

"Comes from not eating when you're a kid." Duo replied wryly, then continued soberly. "Don't feel guilty. They do come back to haunt you and they seem to be mad when you feel guilty. People die all the time. It's just that we got left behind because we had something to do."

"Ah." Wufei commented quietly, letting Duo comfort him. He also hadn't expected any sympathy from Heero. He had been too isolated when he was growing up understand the devastation that Wufei was feeling. And Wufei thought that comforting was a woman's job. It was just that he didn't want comfort from the two women that were on board. Sally and Noin he didn't feel comfortable enough around to allow them to get this friendly with him. And Duo, from his little story did understand how much he had lost. Wufei laid there and gradually fell asleep for the first time in ages, Duo's even breathing and soothing strokes lulling him into sleep. Duo dozed a little himself, not trusting himself to fall deeply asleep, he didn't want to dream, because they wouldn't be good ones. He was snoozing when he heard the door open. Duo tried not to tense up, hoping that he could explain to Heero what he was doing here before he punched him out.

Heero walked in silently, not changing his expression when he saw his lover cradled in Duo's arms. Duo looked back at Heero neutrally, hoping that he would at least allow him to roll Wufei onto the bed before he started the fight.

"He needed someone to hold him. Quatre's at his wit's end with you. Trowa can't or won't let someone besides Quatre get this close to him. You have no idea why this is important and the ZERO system isn't letting you understand either." Duo said quietly. "He needed someone and I was available. Sally and Noin he won't let get this close to him. And your Gundam is a rotten companion at times."

"I know." Heero said neutrally. #Why are you doing this? What are you getting out of this? Do you think that you can prove your loyalty this way?#

"If you get on the other side, I can probably shift him so that he won't wake and you can snuggle." Duo offered. #Just take it, damn it. Don't think that every fucking move has to be analyzed. That's the ZERO system thinking for you. I had hoped that since Wufei and the rest of us had treated you like a human being you could still act like one.#

"Snuggle?" Heero asked puzzled.

"Share body warmth. Cuddle?" Duo said, trying to figure out if it was language problem or a cultural one. He didn't think that Heero was that uninformed, Wufei must have taught him something, they had been sleeping together for months. Or may be they were the slambang, back to your own bed type. "He needs a warm body near him. Just to chase away the bad dreams. It might help you too. I'm next door if you need anything."

Heero grunted softly, sliding into the bed, letting Duo shift Wufei onto him so that he could get up. Heero was torn between confusion and amusement when he threw the extra blanket over the two of them. He was startled and would have yelled at Duo when he gave him a light kiss on the forehead before letting himself out the door.

"Duo" Heero hissed. "This isn't funny." #Why are you being nice to the one person that you should hate? And apparently caring about the person that you expect to shoot you in back in combat? I heard you talking to Quatre and Trowa, you expect me to shoot you, I saw it in your sad eyes too. I just wonder when they stopped laughing. We never noticed that they did. It just happened one day. #

"I didn't think it was. You need it too. Don't you have times when you want someone, anyone to touch you. Not hit you or use you. Just acknowledge that you're there and you have feelings?" Duo asked sadly. #I'm so lonely half the time that I could pound my head against the wall until I passed out, just to feel something besides lonely. You're human, don't you feel that way too? I want to go to T-chan and have him hold me and tell me that that things will get better, because they can't get any worse. And you are ignoring the guy that trusts/loves you and needs your help.#

Wufei snorted and murmured at the sound of their voices, shifting on Heero so that he could get more comfortable. Duo waved at Heero's softening glare and let himself out of the cabin. Heero still wouldn't let his guard down around other people. So he'd leave him to Wufei and hopefully they could both get some rest. Duo wandered down to where Quatre had mentioned that he could find something to eat, hoping that he would run into Trowa or Quatre, he wanted to talk to someone. Any of the crew would at best ignore him, the worse would be that they hassled him. He didn't want to put up with either right now. He was happy to see that there was no one in the mess hall and grabbed himself a cup of coffee and a stale cookie. It wasn't much, but it would hold him over until he could get back onto the schedule that the PeaceMillion kept. He sat down and ate in one of the corners and hoped that nothing would happen.

He knew that Howard and company didn't like him, considering they had both the Docs and Zechs had been bad mouthing him in the last few months. And he really didn't remember what had happened before the Doc decided that he was going to train him, he had lost a few days and felt a bit -off- when he had woken up. So for all he knew he had been the flavor of the day for the time that he was out and the crew was bit pissed that they weren't going to get another chance with him. Duo was thinking it over when he noticed Noin and Sally had entered the room. He waved at them and was surprised that both of them came over to where he was sitting to talk to him.

"Hi," Duo said, shifting so that they could sit down.

"Hi back," Sally said warmly. Noin nodded at him and Duo again wondered what the hell her problem was with him.

"Did I ever tell you I was sorry that I blew a hole in your hospital?" Duo asked Sally, grinning at her, slipping back into his clown role easily .

"Now that I think of it, you never did." she said solemnly. "Are you?"

"Kinda, but it did get Heero out which was my main objective." Duo said cheerfully. Noin snorted and both Duo and Sally looked at her.

"I never did get to ask you Noin, what's problem you're having with me?" Duo asked quietly, his attempt at good cheer being ignored by her. "Since most of the crew here is pissed at me too, I'd like to know what you have against me. I can guess at their problem, but you confuse me."

"I don't like you." she said quietly. "I don't trust you and I think that you are lying about what happened between Treize and Mirialdo. I was listening to everything that you were telling Relena."

"I don't lie." Duo said quietly, confused why Noin would be upset about Zechs.

"He wasn't sleeping with Treize at the time, he was sleeping with me!" Noin snarled.

Duo looked at her in confusion, his mind racing. #Great, he was two timing on T-chan and physically abusing him. Why am I not surprised? The arrogance of the man thinking that he could walk into someone's life after months and just jump him again, even after seeing evidence that you were no longer wanted, should have told me that. Or did he think that I came with the room? And Noin is all pissy at me because she doesn't want to know that her boyfriend was sleepin' with his commanding officer. And there is the question of what does he have that I don't, which is hard to answer in this one because both Noin and Treize are OZ officers, good pilots and know who he really is. So why was he sleepin' with the both of them? One for Zechs and one for Miraldo?#

"Ever think that he was doin' both of you just because he couldn't figure out what was going on in his life? He should have told you, but it might have been something that slipped his mind." Duo said softly. "But the only reason I was where I was for the last year was because some one knew that they were getting it on and when he split I was sent in to keep Treize occupied."

"Don't act like you didn't enjoy it. Or that you never had done it before." Howard taunted Duo, coming up behind Sally and Noin.

Duo tilted back his chair and stared at Howard. "I enjoyed it," he admitted cheerfully. "He treated me like a person, not a playing piece in some stupid game. That in itself was seductive. He was nicer to me then any one of the Mad Five was to any of us on their best days. So go take your pissy 'tude and shove it. Remember , you may not like me but the green is still good. You always said that I was your best customer."

Duo's voice ended on a cold note, still staring at Howard with the grin on his face, but his eyes were hard. Sally looked like she wanted to be anyplace else but there and Noin had the good grace to look slightly abashed at Duo's statement. Duo took his feet off the table and grabbed his coffee cup. "And Howard, I may not remember what happened to me during my first few days here, but it's not going to get repeated and anyone that tries something I will shoot." Duo informed him walking past the stunned man.

Howard stared at Duo retreating back for a moment before turning back to the two women. Noin's face was neutral, but Sally's had a suspicious glare on it.

"What did happen?" she demanded harshly.

"Kid's talking tough, wants to make trouble." Howard replied, not meeting her eyes.

"Duo?" Sally laughed coldly. "Tough isn't in him, not like Wufei or Heero. But he doesn't lie and if he says something happened I believe him."

"He was a stowaway. We were bored. It was our playing with him that brought him to the Doc's attention. Otherwise, who know where he'd be?"

"Oh I don't know," Sally started sarcastically. "Living a normal life? Sleeping through the night? Not wondering if his next battle will be his last?"

"Or if he's going to be dead before next week," Noin added softly. "What exactly did you do to him?"

"Nothing damaging, he won't remember much of it if he ever does. He was pumped so full of drugs that he couldn't remember who he was, never mind what happened to him. And I was careful with him." Howard smiled nervously.

"Yeah. I bet you were. Someone that looks as good as Duo doesn't fall into your lap every day. But what would you have done once you got tired of him? Let him go or ship him off with the next load of salvage to highest bidder?" Sally asked furiously.

"Well that never happened now did it?" Howard drawled regaining his confidence. Noin didn't seem to care and Sally wasn't combat trained. He was safe. He was surprised when Sally hauled back and slugged him one, smashing his glasses and blackening an eye.

"I will say this once. You touch him and you die." she threatened coolly. "Anyone on this ship does and you're a dead man, because you're in charge. He doesn't need that. The rest of them shouldn't have to worry about it either. You got the message?"

Howard nodded slowly, wondering what Sally had been doing to be able to slug him like that. She had punch like a guy. Sally looked at him for a moment, spun on her heel and stalked out of the mess room. Noin laughed lowly for a moment and shook her head.

"Duo will either charm you or you hate him. Sally's charmed. I'm neutral on the whole matter. But don't screw with him, because that will cause the rest of them to be distracted and they are needed in the fight for the colonies. They will stick together on this. If I am willing to overlook Wufei slaughtering my students in their sleep, you can keep it in your pants until Duo isn't needed any longer."

Howard shrugged. "He's combat trained now, not as easy a target as you'd want. But he'll do something stupid eventually."

"Duo?" Noin shook her head. "He won't because he's not the clown you think that he is. He managed to lead the other four on a merry chase about his activities. And they are not stupid, even if they are expendable."

Sally stalked along the hallway, trying to catch up with Duo. She found him outside the pilots area and grabbed him from behind. She was startled when he turned and shoved her against the wall, threatening her with a knife. Duo recognized her and dropped back a pace and blushed. "Oops?" he managed to get out.

"Duo you are sleeping with me!" Sally ordered him, unshaken by his attack. She should have realized that he would be jumpy.

"I'm not that kind of a boy!"

"Don't be an idiot, I trust Howard to drive the ship. I don't trust him to keep it in his pants. You're staying with me!" Sally growled at him.

Trowa stuck his head outside his quarters and looked at the two of them. He stepped out into the hallway and stared at the two of them. Duo ducked behind him and cried "She's trying to take advantage of me! Save me from her!"

"Quatre's asleep." Trowa announced flatly.

Duos topped fooling around and stepped out from behind Trowa. "Sorry. I hope we didn't wake him."

"No you didn't. Be quiet."

"I'll bunk with you Sally. Your room or mine?" Duo whispered.

"Yours." Sally said, "And do you know how bad that sounds?" She left to get clothes for the night and hoped that Duo didn't snore.

"Really bad, but shit just does at times." Duo said, his eyes distant, watching her leave.

"Good." Trowa turned to go back into the room as Duo grabbed his shirt sleeve.

"How's he doing?" Duo asked, jerking his head in the direction of the room.

"Not good. He has nightmares. Would you know why?" Trowa asked gently.

"I might, but I think that it's different for different people." Duo said uncomfortably.

"Can you tell me what you saw. You never came out and said that." Trowa asked.

"I'll tell you, in my room. I'll be fast." Duo promised as Trowa waffled, not wanting to leave Quatre alone. Trowa slowly nodded as Duo keyed open his room. "You heard me tell you that it talks to you? He's probably getting that, maybe. Or something else because he's so damn sensitive to begin with. And I don't mean that he's nice guy kinda of sensative. The way that he could tell if something was wrong with one of us kind of sensitive. That I don't know how it would work. Did he tell you?"

"Just that it allowed the pilot to see the future to a certain extent. That allowed them to predict the movement of the Mobile Dolls. But there is something else too?" Trowa asked.

"I think that it shows you the real you. Not what people think you are." Duo said slowly, sitting down on the bed. "But I also think when it shows you the future and the alternate futures, it might tell you what might have been."

"So Heero and Quatre are getting what?" Trowa asked, puzzled.

"I don't know about Heero. Nothing probably. But the might have been stuff might be why he is shutting down. He might see what he could have been without this damn war and the docs. Quatre might be finding out that he's more like Heero then his father and it could be tearing him up inside. Our innocent friend might learn that he could kill as easily as I and Heero do."

"Heero, yes he is a killer. But you Duo?" Trowa asked, confused. Duo wasn't a killer.

"I kill easily now. Very easily. I got as used to it as Heero is and in probably a shorter time. My two main functions over the last year were to keep T-chan entertained and to kill people. Most of the time I wasn't with you I was setting up for an assassination or hiding after I did one. Guns, knives, poison - I used it all. Even my braid once when the bastard didn't die fast enough." Duo's voice was soft and dull. "That drove me to T-chan's bed more often then anything. I was so sick of Death. I was Death, I understood that, but it had become an endless assembly line. I wanted to feel someone, have them touch me. Sounds pathetic doesn't it? Since he needed the same thing too." Duo laughed mirthlessly, hugging his pillow. "We were two burnt out puppets towards the end Trowa, driven by outside forces more then anything. We still are. I'm here in Space and he's on Earth waiting to hear anything about me, if I'm dead. If I'm alive."

Duo was silent for a second and looked up at Trowa, "Will we ever be able to leave this game to finally live?"

 

Notes: #...# indicates thoughts/thinking.

 

 

Dangerous Liaisons by Christine

Part Fourteen

 

Conversations V

"I can go?" she asked suspiciously.

"Of course Queen Relena, the Romafeller Foundation no longer needs you as a symbol for their organization, they have decided that a more militant outlook is better." came the cool, smooth voice behind her.

"And I can just walk out of here, they won't stop me?" Relena asked, turning around to face her savior, hoping that it wasn't her executioner.

"Relena, I would recommend that you change into something a little more casual. That outfit is not practical." Treize observed in amusement. She was in formal gown, wearing a small fortune in jewelry. She looked older and harder then she should, an expensive little doll for the Romafellers.

"You know what I mean. I don't trust them. I barely trust you. But Lady Une likes you so you can't be all that bad." Relena snapped at him.

"Lady Une...." Treize's eyes went vague for a moment and then focused back on her. "What do you care about her opinion? You did try to kill her."

"Try is the operative word, Terize- sama. Do you really think that I am that inept as to miss a meter away from my target, when she was just standing there? Relena asked haughtily.

"Well, yes." Treize admitted.

"I was angry with her that she killed my step-father, and the Romafellers were expecting something from me. so I did take a pot shot at her. I informed her later that I was actually quite grateful that she had killed the bastard. I just wished that others hadn't died with him." Relena said coldly, her eyes distant and sad. Treize had seen that look too often in Duo's eyes when he was remembering his childhood. So why was it in Relena's?

"You loved your father, you were always together, he took you everywhere...." Treize's voice trailed off and he stared at her in growing horror. "Oh my God!"

"You did guess correctly. I wasn't his daughter, so it wasn't incest. Mrs. Darlian either didn't care or couldn't figure it out. I wasn't angry that Une killed him, just that I didn't get to do it. I was going to arrange an ëaccident' for him when I was eighteen and I could legally get away from him" Relena explained calmly. She stiffened a little when Treize swept her into hug, then relaxed.

"Duo's corrupted you." she said to his chest. "The only reason I'm allowing this is that you don't like girls."

"Actually I adore women, just not to sleep with." Treize said with a smile and stepped back. "And how to you know about him?"

"I was there when he explained to the rest of the pilots about that machine." Relena said. "And he told me about you and my brother and his worries about Epyon and my brother."

"Ah, so what are you plans now? The Sank Kingdom is in chaos and if you do go back there it won't be good." Treize said.

"I'm going into Space. I have to talk to my brother. He is my only living relative and I want to protect him from what he has become." Relena said softly.

"Relena," Treize started softly, "He may not be savable. I loved you brother, passionately and as a friend, but he has changed over the last year. You may not be able to convince him of the error of his ways."

"I know, but I have too." Relena's tone was resolute. #Loved? What did he do to you? Just leaving wouldn't have killed what you had, so what did?#

"I understand, but this war has changed all of us. I want no more glory, no more fighting. Total Pacifism is the only answer. All I want is to settle down in a small cabin out in the woods with Duo and watch him cook, have him learn to relax and grow. I want to plant roses and try take out food, do a hundred little things to spoil Duo and have him spoil me. " Treize said wistfully.

"Oh my, you do love him. I thought that Une was wrong about that. I thought that she was just fooling herself because she couldn't have you." Relena said in amazement.

"Amazing isn't it? I can't believe that he does love me. It just seems so strange and unearthly. I want to tell half the Foundation about it, just to see their faces."

"It's also tragic." Relena said, sadly.

"Relena, everything about this world and the colonies have been tragic since the assassination of Heero Yuy. We've just gotten caught up in it more then others." Treize told her gently.

 

Interlude X Final Act

Duo walked up to walk he thought was Relena's cabin and calmly started to break in. He quick jaunt through the computer system had told him where she was. After Zechs announced that he was punishing the Earth for its arrogance with the colonies, the scrabble in the PeaceMillion started. The announcement and the destruction of the island had been broadcast over every channel from the Libra. Duo had caught it while he was in Quatre's room, sick of looking at his own four walls. Quatre had gone pale and had almost thrown up. Duo had panicked when he caught a glimpse of Relena in the background, looking horrified at what her brother was doing. Duo could tell that the only thing that was keeping her on the bridge was the fact that Dorothy Catalonia had her arm in a deathgrip. Allies do not usually twist your arm around your back like that. From the reactions that he heard outside the room, most of the crew was horrified at what had happened. Quatre collapsed and Duo went to find Trowa to deal with him. Duo had to go rescue Relena. He owed it to Une to do that. Trowa he found and managed to send him back to Quatre without the other boy worrying about what he was doing. Duo just had to figure out how he was getting to the Libra. Shinigami, for once actually would stick out too much. But there was the freighter that was crashed in the same bay from the Libra. He could sneak aboard that way and save Relena. Getting out he'd have to get creative, but that was what they weren't paying him for.

It worked. He had managed to get away, after leaving a small note for Quatre, explaining to him what he had to do. Quatre would understand, he always did. He crashed into the Libra's bay and had been sent by someone to warn the others about the terrorist that had snuck aboard. That left him with time to figure out a plan and get to Relena. He just hoped that he wouldn't run into any more trouble. God owed him, surely he wouldn't fuck up this good deed?

Duo ghosted into the room, finding Relena curled up and asleep on her bunk. He gently placed a hand over her mouth and woke her up. He was prepared that she would be startled, he didn't think that she would try to take his head off before she recognized who it was. What the had scared her so that she woke up like that? He'd examine that question later, right now they had to beat feet from this place.

"Relena," he whispered, "It's me Duo. I'm here to rescue you. I don't think that Zechs is going to listen to sweet reason anymore, not after he had Dorothy practically breaking your arm to keep you on the bridge."

Relena nodded slowly, her eyes focusing on him. "Sorry. I'm jumpy. I didn't think that he would do that."

"He's nuts. Not playing with a full deck. A few short of a six pack and I am getting you the hell out of here. You can't preach Total Peace if you're floating in Space, reduced to a smear."Duo said, letting her get up. "I have a little plan to get out of here, but its rough and you are going to have to listen to me. Okay."

"Okay. Duo I will, but why are you doing this?"Relan asked as she pulled on her shoes.

"Because Une didn't shoot me when she caught me in bed with T-chan the first time. That was fun."Duo said smiling slightly. "Two of us ready to shoot each other over the same guy. A story for the grandkids."

"Okay. I believe that one."Relena said. #You do like her. I thought that she was kidding about that. The small stories that she told about when the three of you were together sounded nice. And it was. I just hope that it can be that way for you again. #

Duo opened the door and peered out into the hallway, looking for hostiles. The coast was clear and he grabbed her hand and leaped/ran to the next corner to repeat the action. They continued this until they had reached the bay level and Duo hoped that he could relax a little. The hostiles were busy looking for the terrorist that was trying to sneak in. They weren't looking for two kids trying to sneak out. All he had to do was go to one of the other bays and get the two of them out in a half repaired suit. It wouldn't be comfortable, but it would get them out of there and on the PeaceMiIlion. Noin could take care of Relena and the rest of them would kick butt and take names. And hopefully, by destroying this monster spaceship, they could get the Earth and Colonies to decide to stop the fighting, since White Fang's power would be broken. They just had a few more levels to go.

He was starting to breathe easier when he spotted something or someone trailing behind them. He wasn't sure but he thought that it was that nut case Dorothy. What had tweaked her buttons to make her the way she was, he didn't want to know. They just had to lose her and get off this place. He wasn't prepared for the aggressiveness that she showed in following them. He should have figured it out though, she knew this place better then they did and would call Zechs to corner them before they reached their goal.

Duo and Relena hit the last corridor and Duo could just see a Mobile Suit, when Dorothy dropped out of no where and kicked him into a wall. He steadied himself and dived back, trying to knock her out before she got help. He managed to drive her back a bit, when she changed tactics and dove for Relena, who had sensibly gotten out of the way and was scanning the hallway for more soldiers. She noticed Dorothy's move at the last minute, but wasn't fast enough getting out of the way. Dorothy grabbed her hair and pulled Relena against her, pointing a knife underneath her chin.

"Give up or I slit her throat and tell Mirialdo that you did it."she threatened. Relena's eyes widened and she was about to say something when Duo felt a very large hand grab the back of his head and slam him into a wall. Duo saw stars for a moment and when his vision cleared, he was looking into the ice blue eyes of T-chan's ex-lover. Mirialdo Peacecraft. The words 'Oh Shit' slowly formed in his mind, but before he could get them out, he hit the wall again and passed out. The sight that he had was of a furious and scared Relena wrestling with Dorothy, who had prudently dropped the knife when Mirialdo showed up.

When Duo came to again, he had this strange feeling of dejavu. He had just hit another wall hard. He couldn't save himself from the impact, his hands had been cuffed behind his back. He groaned when he hit the wall and hoped that Relena was alright. Zechs grabbed his head and felt through his hair, finding the lock picks that he kept there. Zechs chuckled lowly and pocketed them, searching the rest of his body roughly, relieving him of his back up pistol and the knife he had hidden in his clothes.

"You did come equipped,"he growled into Duo's ear. "Thank you for giving me something to use on you."

Duo didn't answer. It wouldn't be worth it. Zechs had him trapped and Duo hoped that the bigger man would just kill him quickly, but he didn't think so. He was too angry with him and Duo thought that he had kissed sanity good bye ages ago.

"You kept me from Treize." he hissed lowly.

"You left."Duo replied before he could stop himself. That earned him a punch in the kidneys. Duo gasped, he knew that Zechs was strong, but that really hurt. And it slammed him into the wall again. They only thing that kept him from smashing his face into the wall was the painful grip that Zechs had on his hair.

"What were your plans with my sister?"

Duo was silent, earning him another punch and smash. When he could breath again he replied, "To get her the hell out of this place."

"Why? Why were you taking her away from me? You took Treize, wasn't that enough?"Zechs growled again.

Duo sighed, then moaned when Zechs pulled his hair tighter. Man that hurt! "You left and I was told to take your place. Do you think that I would have thought up that stupidity on my own? You caused me jumping into his bed. No one else. You left him wide open for a stunt like that. Relena's needed for peace. And it's not going to happen if she gets reduced to her component atoms when this place is blown by the Romafellers. And they will fight back. Because that stunt you just pulled will force them to."

Zechs answer was a knee to the middle of back He let go of his hair and started tearing at his clothes. After a while the tough material refused to tear and Zechs started cutting at it with the knife that Duo had been carrying. He wasn't too careful about Duo and after his top was cut off of him, he was bleeding from number of cuts, mostly shallow but some were deep. Zechs wasn't being too careful with him. Zechs flipped him around and punched him in the stomach to keep him from fighting back when he was stripping him of his pants and boots. Duo stared up at him, shivering slightly from the cold.

"Feeling better?"he asked sarcastically, when he could speak. He couldn't help himself. This was just too dumb and too scary and if he wasn't sarcastic he was going to start screaming because it was bad. Zechs was bigger and crazier then he was and he was going to be in world of hurt if he got his way. Really bad because he was hoping that Dorothy or Khan was going to be saving him from this boogie man.

"No," was Zechs's answer as he stood over him, panting slightly, looking down at him. This little kurva had ruined Treize's plans. Had ruined his relationship with Treize. He had to be punished. He'd ridden in Epyon, his machine before he did. Duo Maxwell was a whore and he would treat him as such. Duo gotten this far in his life by spreading his legs to the highest bidder, he would see why that was not a good thing. The little whore had to be punished. Then he would be used like he should be.

Zechs leaned down and grabbed Duo's bangs, forcing the boy to stand up or lose hair. He slammed him against the wall again, gratified at his groan of pain. He ran his fingers through the thick hair, it had been worked into a complicated design different from his usual braid. Even he realized that waving his meter long braid on the Libra was not a good idea. This helped disguise him fractionally, but not enough. Zechs had memorized the face and figure of his hated stand-in the one time that he had met him and he knew he was here, even before Dorothy had spotted him dragging his sister away from him. It would be interesting to unravel it later and then hear him cry as he shaved his head. A fitting punishment for one that had betrayed his allies for something as fleeting as physical pleasure.

Zechs kneed Duo in the stomach again, gratified at hearing the 'woosh' of air leaving his lungs. He straightened him up and causally backhanded him into the corner, not giving him time to recover. The combination of low gravity and the lightness of his victim made it rather like playing a volley ball as he continued to hit Duo around the small room that they were in. After while he tired of this game, noting that Duo seemed unconscious from the endless slams into the wall that he made. It was a pity that he had passed out so fast, but then the boy couldn't absorb the impact of landing with his hands and protect himself that way, because of the cuffs. Zechs wasn't sure, but he thought that he had heard something crack during the last few minutes. Duo laid in a small heap, not moving. Zechs wasn't sure if he was breathing, but he would check and wake up the little one, he had something that would make him respond. The sight of him lying there like a broken doll was very stimulating.

Zechs leaned over and picked up Duo again, lifting him by his shoulder. He hung limply in his grasp, not responding to Zechs until he kissed him hard, driving his tongue into his mouth and hurting his already bruised lips. Duo choked and tried to cough, coming out of his stupor a bit with this new attack. He instinctively tried to bite the tongue that was choking him, earning him a hard slap across the face after Zechs stopped kissing him.

"Thought that would get you going, even though I usually don't kiss whores."

"Don't do me any favors,"Duo mumbled mushily back at him. Talking was difficult, he felt that his face had caught most of the punishment and he felt the bruises coming out on it. He was glad that he hadn't lost any teeth, yet.

Zechs backhanded him again, annoyed at his pertness. He really did need to be taught a lesson, Whatever possessed Treize to lower himself with this creature. He understood that a man had needs, but a continuing arrangement with this thing? That was too much. "Shut up."

"Yeah, I know the line, if you wanted my opinion, you'd beat it out of me." Duo wisecracked.

"What did Treize see in you?"Zech's tone was a mixture of fury, puzzlement and disgust.

Duo coughed hoarsely, too sore to laugh, trying to ignore the pain in his side and the blood that came up with his cough. Something broke, probably a rib and it might have punctured something else. "Fuck if I know, that's one of the great mysteries, like why bread always lands butter side down. Just one of those things, I guess. I could never figure it out."

"He's not going to want you after I'm though with you."Zechs promised.

Duo closed his eyes and swallowed hard. Zechs was nuts and Duo was alone with him. That he had twisted what had happened between him and Treize into being Duo's fault rather then his own, meant that he was going to get hurt a lot. He was no stranger to being roughed up in an interrogation or on the street, but Zechs had a personal interest in hurting him, which meant that anything could happen. The frightened him more then he wanted to admit to himself. So Zechs was going to get creative and given the fact that he was under a time limit, he was going to go for the major damage first. Duo just hoped that he crawled away with his sanity intact.

"So long as he's around not to want me, I could live with it." Duo rasped, coughing up more blood.

Zechs stared down at his captive, his low voiced comment breaking some barrier of sanity in his brain. Duo's indifferent comment about his own fate, bounced through Zechs mind for a moment before he lifted him up again and threw him into a corner. Duo hadn't hit the floor before Zechs was over him, unzipping his trousers and thrusting himself into Duo. Duo was barely conscious and had almost faded into oblivion when this new pain struck him, jerking him out of his stupor. He felt that someone had stuck an iron rod up his ass and choked a little after Zechs thrust past his entrance. He felttearing after a few stokes as the tender muscles gave up under Zech's onslaught. Duo heard Zech's low cry of completion like it was happening in another room, another universe. He was still huddled, barely feeling the blood and semen trickling down his thighs when Zechs lifted up his head and shook him into consciousness.

"I'm surprised that you didn't starve to death, that was pitiful. You should pay me for that. God, you were as worthless as a whore as you are a Gundam pilot."

Duo blinked, the pain that he was feeling making it hard to focus on Zech's words. He couldn't fight back physically and mentally he was wiped. He was used up. It had been too long a fight, even before he was a Gundam pilot. The words just were buzzing in his head for a while before he could translate them into something that he could understand.

He'd been raped before, it wasn't the traumatizing experience that Zechs had hoped it would be. And he knew his worth, right now as a pilot, he had saved those OZ soldiers outside Luxembourg, so his words didn't hurt him that way, but all he could think of was that Zechs had done this to T-chan, who'd loved him. And he couldn't stop the words that were popping out of his mouth.

"You shit. You only feel better when you hurt someone? Did it feel this good when you raped T-chan? He loved you. He trusted you and you did this to him. And then you were so stupid as to think that he'd forgive you for it? Noin still likes you so mustn't have gotten this far..."

Duo's voice trailed off as Zech smashed his head against the wall again silencing him. He left him lying there as he zipped up his pants and walked out the door, Maxwell had a few more lessons before Zechs was through with him. But now he had business to attend to, then he could go back and teach Maxwell that a silent whore was the best kind.

Duo woke up to Zechs nudging him with the toe of his boot. Duo groaned, the abused muscles in his body protesting the fact that he was moving. His hands had fallen asleep and he had a pounding headache from Zechs using his head as a racket ball. He didn't know how long he'd been out, but it musthave been a few hours if he felt this cramped and cold.

"Whore, get up."Zech growled.

Duo ignored him, even after he'd started kicking his ribs. It was a test, to see who broke first, Zechs or Duo. Zechs did. Duo was perversely proud that he had, even though it earned him another broken rib and a host of new bruises. Zechs lifted him up and slammed him against the wall again, before allowing him to slide down it to rest in a crouch. Duo stared up at him, eyes glazed and said nothing, concentrating on breathing, because his ribs were beginning to bother him and it was getting a little painful to breath.

"You are pretty. Do you think that Treize, no T-chan, how cute,"Zech's comment dripped sarcasm, "would like or even want you as much if I took away your prettiness. It's not like you are his intellectual equal. Or that you talked. He fucked you because you were convenient, cheap and pretty."

Duo bent over and coughed, specks of blood landing at his feet. He couldn't breath so answering Zechs was out of the question. Zechs stooped down and gently put his finger under Duo's chin, tilting it up so that he could meet his eyes. Duo stared back, not bothering to hide the tiredness and fear in them. He was too hurt to play whatever game Zechs was into. And by notplaying he was aggravating the bigger man, so may be he was winning this too.

"No answer. I'm surprised G said you usually at a comment on everything. No comment on me carving you up?"he inquired gently.

"You got the knife,"Duo stated breathily. " And you're the one that not sitting here naked and bound, so why you asking me questions?"

"Ah, a comment. Where should I start? Your hair? Your face? Or should I start someplace else, so that you still look good, until the clothes come off. The look of disgust that he'll have when he realizes that perfect, soft, satiny skin is marred? Flawed like you. What should I do?"Zech's voice was soft and he'd leaned over so that he could whisper his threats into Duo's ear, like a lover's endearments.

Duo stared straight ahead, not commenting, afraid that he'd say the wrong thing. He was too tired to figure out which would be the best answer if any of them. He had a sneaking sensation that Zechs would start on his hair no matter what he said, so he kept quiet.

"Nothing? Or don't you care anymore. What were you going to do after the war? Hope that you were still attractive enough to peddle yourself again? Or did you think that you could have a normal life?"

Duo coughed again, a thin thread of laughter forced out of him. "I don't expect to survive. None of us do. That's the difference between us Gundam pilots and you. You weren't willing to throw it all away. Not like Heero. Or Quatre. [Or me, but the damn thing never worked!] You never have hadthe balls to self-destruct. That's what made us the pilots we are. That's why you will die. Hasn't Epyon told you that? You have no future."

Zechs grasped Duo's face and neck in his hand and looked deeply into his eyes. "What did Epyon tell you?"

Duo choked and attempted swallow, happy when Zechs relaxed his grip enough so that he could. "That you are a dead man. Your cause is futile. That cleansing the Earth is wrong. It's our life, the colonies life and you have no right to destroy it. Even if you think that you have won...your victory is illusionary."

"What else?"Zechs demanded, softly stroking Duo's cheek with his thumb. He leaned down so that their foreheads were touching and that he could stare deeply into those endless depths of shadows, their color drained by the low light, the pupil all that seemed to be showing. They pulled him so far in, he felt like he was petitioning an ancient oracle, rather then interrogating a prisoner.

"That I am Death. Shinigami. And all those that touch me die."Duo replied huskily, unable to look way, even if he could. His eyes reflected the pain that he was in, but they also promised Zechs that he was telling the truth. Zechs ignored the cold chill that ran down his spine at that look and those words. He fought off his uneasiness by attacking Duo.

"A empty threat. You are here at my mercy. And I'll show you how helpless you are."Zechs promised as he flipped Duo back onto his knees and forced his head down to the floor, Duo tensed and then forced himself to relax as he heard Zechs slowly unzipped his pants and pull out his stiffened member. Duo thought that he must be really getting off on the threats he had made. Duo choked out a small scream when he felt Zechs tear past his opening again, the dried blood cracking off the torn muscles and fresh blood lubricating his passage. Duo forced himself not to react to the slow, heavy punishing strokes that wore him down and provided more blood for lubrication. He had to relax, tensing up just made thing worse.

He flinched when he felt Zechs reach around and start stroking him, getting him hard. Duo moaned involuntarily when Zechs hit his prostate. Zechs paused and then started aiming for that spot again, forcing Duo to enjoy what he was doing to him. As he got closer to his own climax, he was harsher on Duo, roughly stoking his balls and penis, digging his nails into his flesh, leaving scratches on his tender thighs and groin.

Duo was panting and mentally cursing himself when Zechs started to shudder, ignoring any attempt at making Duo enjoy him, scratching and bruising any part of him that he could feel. He buried his shout of triumph in Duo's shoulder, biting it to the bone. Duo shuddered and fell under Zechs weight as he bonelessly collapsed on Duo, forcing him onto the floor. Zechs refused to let go of his hold on Duo's penis until he roughly brought him off, enjoying the pained cries that he wrung from him. Duo was ashamed that he felt himself spill into Zechs's hand and the floor.

"That was nice,"Zechs murmured, enjoying the choked hiccups that Duo was making. He wasn't quite crying, but Zechs was enjoying the fight that Duo was having with himself not to cry more then if he had broken down. "After a good fuck, I like a smoke. While that was only passable, it will do."he murmured, fumbling in his pocket for a cigarette and a match. He lit up his with a small smile and took a drag. He watched the tip get nice red color, blew out the smoke and then rested the tip on Duo's back. He did thisseveral times, admiring the precise line on burn marks that he was laying down Duo's spine. The hiccups had faded to whimpers as Duo's mind registered a new source on pain on his body. Zechs was contemplating where else he could burn when his communicator chirped. He thumbed it on, not bothering to answer.

"Commander, Oz forces are starting to gather, they will be within strike range within twelve hours. PeaceMillion is still staying neutral on this matter."came the tinny voice from the other end. Duo thought he recognized it as Khan, the White Fang leader on the Libra.

"Call me in ten hours,"Zechs instructed, "until then I will be busy with the Gundam pilot and do not want to be disturbed."Zechs didn't wait for an answer but shut off his communicator and leered down at Duo.

"Ten hours. What can I do in that time?" Zechs mused, taking another drag on the cigarette.

Duo whimpered when he then ground it out in his neck, smelling flesh and a bit of hair burning. He promised himself that he could cry later, when Zechs was gone if he could get through these next hours. He was hoping that he could keep that promise when he heard the 'rasp' of Zechs drawing the knife he had taken off him and the burning sensation along his skin that informed him that Zechs was starting to try and peel it off his legs and thighs. His vision blacked out and Duo was absurdly relieved that he had passed out before he had cried. He just wondered what he'd be waking up to.

Duo came too again, the raw spot on his legs, back and arms bringing him out of unconsciousness. His ribs protested the fact that he was laying on the floor and Zechs was attempting to pound him though the deck. He must have been out of it for a while, because as soon as he stirred Zechs gave one last snap of his hips and shouted. Duo shuddered as he withdrew wondering if he was going to burn him some more or something else. He whimpered when he heard the scratch of a match head and smell of smoke.

"Wondering when you'd come back. You know you're more enjoyable lying there like a lump then when I was getting you off. Or should I try that experiment again to see if it was true?"Zechs asked, all the while repeating the drag and burn that he did with his first smoke. Duo felt the tears gathering in his eyes as he felt the line of burns continue down his back, one for each vertebra. He tried feebly to wiggle away, but stopped when Zechs casually dislocated his arm to make him stop moving. Duo screamed, his vision going grey/red when Zechs put pressure on a large raw spot on his back to do it.

"I've hurt you. You're not going to be pretty anymore. But I don't think that that's going to be enough. You haven't been out that long. And we do have few more hours before the attack comes, so I decided that, as an incentive to them, you get to entertain most of the flight crew before they leave. I told them that they could do almost anything to you. That there was a bonus to whomever made you cry. That they only thing that was off limits was your hair. And they are waiting outside now, all of them. So you won't be lonely while I go off and plan the attack."

Duo whimpered at Zech's words, horror filling his soul. #Not again# his mind cried. #Your defenses are gone. Zechs you can barely handle, but T-chan spoiled you.# Duo continued to whimper frantically as he heard the heavy boots tramp into the room and hands begin to grab and grope at him. He lost count of the number of penises that were thrust into him or he had to suck off. It became a blur to him as his inner walls slowly came up, trying to block out what was happening. It didn't work very well, but Duo was glad that all he was remembering was the pain, the foul taste and his endless inner screams for T-chan. He didn't know when the last one left, when he was able to collapse in a puddle of semen and blood, coughing up more blood and the contents of his stomach from his abused body. He shuddered as Zechs entered the room again, looking at him with blurry eyes.

"They'll be back in an hour or so. You can rest until then. But I do want one last go at you before I go out and slaughter your compatriots. If you're lucky I might be able to drag one back here to help with the load. But you are a professional, so this shouldn't be too hard on you."Zechs taunted as he unzipped his pants, pulled out his cock and thrust it into the Duo's aching body. Duo screamed, tears finally rolling down his face. Raw, he felt so raw like all the skin had been stripped off his body. He barely heard Zechs as he was talking.

"I taped it. Should I broadcast that T-chan? Do you think that he'd want to touch you again? You're filthy. You're garbage and you're going to be spreading your legs for my men for the rest of your short life. You looked so helpless. It was intoxicating. I almost came several times just watching."Zechs groaned and pulled out, coming in Duo's face, mixing his seed with his tears. He lit another cigarette, smoking it all the way though this time, not bothering to burn Duo anymore until he had to put it out. He then casually ground it out on Duo's balls, jerking him back into awareness, finally making him cry.

Duo sobbed, not really perceiving what Zechs had just done. The pain had been so excruciating that it didn't register in his mind. It just hurt, like his head, his throat, and mostly his ass. He curled up as best as he could, letting the tears run into his hair. Why couldn't he just die? It was so hard being able to survive everything. He didn't notice Zechs leaving or the lights finally going out, letting him hide in the dark. He managed to stop sobbing after a while and tried to figure out how to escape Or if it would be easier to kill himself because he was in no shape to go through that again. Duo was still trying to figure out what he could do when he passed out from exhaustion and blood loss.

Duo woke with a start, scared that the battle was over and they would be coming back again. That's if any of them survived against playing with a Gundam. But he had to get out of here. And his bangs were sticking to his face and driving him insane. It was dark, so he couldn't understand why he wanted his hair out of his eyes. It wasn't like he could see anything. Zechs kept it dark when he was alone, not that he had been awake much of that time before now and the lights low when he was playing with him. He didn't know how bad the damage was, but he felt like he'd been swimming in glass. The smell of blood, semen and sweat was making him sick, but there was nothing left in his stomach.

He was listlessly trying to get his bangs out of his face again when he was jolted forward by the ship being hit by something. Duo couldn't figure out what, but it had been big and hit the Libra at high speed. It damaged the vessel enough so that the alarms were going off. And he was stuck in the brig. Great, killed be either his own side, if the rest of the pilots could be called that or by OZ forces. But it was better then what had just happened. Duo heard the door opening again and cringed. Now was not the time that he thought the leader of this nut house to be visiting him. But then these people were insane.

"Duo?" a voice called out softly. Duo nearly cried with relief. It was Relena.

"Yes," he whispered. He didn't trust his voice to talk any louder.

"Good. I found you. Now would be a good time to get out of here."she said.

"I'm going to need some clothes and help getting out of here. How strong is your stomach?"Duo asked desperately. #Please, please, please keep busy Zechs, do not decide this is a good time to torture me again.#

Relena walked into the room and gasped a little at the smell. "What..." #Blood, all I can smell is blood, what has been happening here? Why did I think that Zechs would not harm Duo because they were both pilots? But something else bad happened in here or Duo wouldn't sound like he was going to cry.#

"Relena I need you to do something. Actually a couple of somethings. But it' s going to be icky. And I'm going to scream and curse a lot. But it's got to be done."

"What?"Relena asked with dread in her voice.

"Push my shoulder back into place and try and do something about my ribs." Duo said. Relena could hear the pain in his voice. She couldn't see anything yet because the lights wouldn't go above a certain setting. But it smelled bad in here, smells that she couldn't or didn't want to identify besides blood, but she could guess what had caused them. #Zechs how could you. He was following orders. It blossomed into something wonderful. But only because you left.#

"I'll try but I can't guarantee anything." she said cautiously.

" S'kay Relena. I nearly threw up when psycho spandex boy decided to set his own leg in front of me. You just have ta shove one of my arms back into the socket. And do you have the keys to my cuffs?"

"I think so. I got something off Dorothy after I clocked her one."Relena admitted. #Jokes to make me feel better, Duo you must be hurt really bad if your that far into your mask.#

"What happened to Total Peace?"Duo asked laughter warring with pain in his voice. That he would have liked to see. Relena punching someone out. Pity he couldn't have captured it on film.

"Doesn't help you get you out of here. Peace I knew was never going to be handed to me, you do have to work for it. Besides the bitch dropped her guard with me. I'm just sorry it took so long."Relena said was satisfaction in her voice.

"Mad she used you, eh?"Duo asked.

"Furious."Relena admitted, undoing his arms and back, trying to rub the circulation into them.

"Ignore that"Duo half screamed. Relena was jarring his arm and she hadn't realized that her brother had decided to use his spine as an ashtray. He had neat line of burn marks down it. He was happy that Zechs had stopped before he decided to burn anything below his waist besides the second or was it the third cigarette, that he had ground out on his balls. He'd nearly passed out during that experience. Unfortunately he hadn't. But time had gone all fuzzy and when he'd gotten his thoughts together, the pilots had been there. She had torn most of them open in her attempt to help him. And she might ask why he was all sticky. He gave her terse instructions on how to fix his arm and hoped that she wouldn't stop or throw up halfway through popping it back into place. He knew that she was tough, he just hoped that her stomach was.

Relena took a deep breath and shoved Duo's arm in the manner that he told her. She recoiled at his scream and took another very deep breath when her last several meals threatened to come back up on her. Duo also was breathing deeply and trying not to throw up. He didn't want to add to the general mess of fluids suspended around the room in low gravity. After a few minutes, they both got their rebellious bodied under control and Relena started binding Duo's ribs with the remains of his shirt, hoping that would keep them in place long enough to get real help.

"This should last until you get to some medical help. God knows where though. I think that was PeaceMillion that rammed us."

"Only way to stop the cannon. And you saw what your brother did to an island with it. After he declared war on the Earth, Howard and the rest of them had to do something. Just give me those clothes, I'll escort you to the PeaceMillion's escape craft and I'll go off in Shinigami. I'm not sitting out the last battle. I gave enough of my fucking life to this thing. I am seeing it to the end."Duo said grimly.

"You're in rotten shape, what can you do?"Relana asked as she helped him wiggle into a coverall. He'd have to soak the damn thing off him if he was going to get it off himself later.

"Try and save lives."Duo said. #I have to do something and the other option is screaming and pounding my head against the wall. Very counterproductive to the few working brain cells that I have left.#

Relena shrugged and put her shoulder under his uninjured arm, supporting him out of his cell, hoping that they didn't meet anyone. They were lucky. Due the confusion of the ramming, no one was paying any attention to them. They managed to get to the dock, suited up and into a transport before anyone caught them. Duo was warming up the engines when he spotted Zechs skulking in the area, around Epyon. Relena saw him at the same time and ran out to the dock, ignoring his screamed "Get your idiot butt in here!" She looked up at the monster Gundam in front of her, her eyes hard.

"Brother. I Disown You. You have acted in a manner not befitting a human being, never mind a Peacecraft."She announced in cold voice. She finally realized that he wasn't worth saving, that he was too broken from either OZ, White Fang or Epyon to ever be human again. Duo's tore up body showed her that.

"And why do you say that?" Zechs voice was amused and relaxed.

"Check to see if Duo Maxwell is in his cell. And Brother, I talked to Treize. It was an enlightening conversation."Relena loftily added. #On both sides. I realized that he wasn't the devil incarnate. He found out that I had my own demons to fight. If we both survive this, we might get to be friends.#

She dashed into the transport and was strapping herself in as Duo hit the accelerator to get them the hell out of there before Zechs realized who was aiding his sister's getaway. They were halfway to their destination when Zech's scream of outrage filled their radio. He was so angry that he was reduced to sputtering incoherently. The only thing that saved them was that the intervening Maganacs forces protected them from him as they hit the PeaceMillon while Sally and Howard were evacuating. Duo shoved Relena into Sally's arms before either woman could say anything and headed for his Gundam.

Duo reached Shinigami, running more on adrenaline then anything else. He climbed to his Gundam, managing to get out of the PeaceMiIlion before Sally found out from Relena how hurt he was. After that it was just a matter of keeping the comm to them closed until after the battle. It hurt to sit, but not doing anything would hurt more. It wasn't like he'd never been hurt before, he could get through this. He had to get thrugh this because if he didn't Zechs would have won.

Not that he remembered much of it. Zechs and Heero trying to kill each other, yet again. The Docs doing something useful and blowing up PeaceMillion and Libra with them on it, before it crashed into the Earth and caused a disaster. Wufie, Quatre, Trowa, the Maganacs and him tearing apart the section of Libra that had broken off from the main body and might actually hit the Earth, to minimize the damage. And Heero, getting to shoot the damn thing with his whopping big gun. Made him almost jealous. But he'd get to see T-chan soon. They could run away and hide and live almost happily ever after. If T-chan wanted him. Zechs was right, the outside was now matching the inside, the rotten street kid that did anything to survive. The assassin that killed on orders, no questions asked.

Duo landed Shinigami with the rest of them, trying to ignore the small feelings of disquiet that he got. He'd shut him off from the main comm lines, had used the private Gundam channels exclusively, kept down the distraction of Sally and Relena screaming at him when they had gotten back to OZ's Earth Headquarters. Even Sally wouldn't interrupt a battle for something a minor as a threat. She knew that she'd get her hands on him sooner or later. She probably was making a list about what to bitch at him about. Relena however, had no sense, she'd say anything in public at times. He did not want the whole world to find out what had happened to him. He'd heard in the back of his mind that the Earth had surrendered to the colonies, but hadn't heard who had made the offer, just that they had accepted it.

Duo sat and shifted a little as the battle high that he had been working on started to fade. Everything was hurting again. He was surprised to hear the seat go squish from all the fluids that had soaked into it. The blood and other stuff that he had been leaking. He didn't think that it had leaked through the coverall, but if he was sitting in it, he must have. He knew had torn it off his skin where he clothes had stuck to him several times during the battle from moving his arms and legs.

The rest of the group landed near him and he watched as Trowa rushed from HeavyArms to Sandrock to help Quatre out of him. Quatre looked like he felt, wrung out and stepped on. Trowa was muttering about Dorothy and foils and how she should learn to cry. If it didn't hurt so much, Duo would laugh. The was the most that Trowa had said in ages.

He didn't want to get up. He wasn't sure if his legs would hold him. Cancel that, his legs wouldn't support him long enough to get away from everyone else. Then they'd know. He couldn't have that, not another stupid thing for them to pity him for. Natuku and Wing landed near each other and Wufei and Heero got out. Neither boy said anything, just held each other tight. Duonoticed that Wufei looked like he had been crying. That was odd. Wufei never cried, not even when he was telling Duo about the death of his colony.After a while the four of them were looking at Shinigami, glancing back and forth at one another, nervous about why Duo hadn't gotten out yet.

"Duo?"Wufei said softly. "I'm sorry."#Duo, he rushed me. Treize courted Death and it wasn't you who answered.#

Duo frowned, forgetting that they couldn't see him. It was getting hard to think clearly. Duo was guessing that he might be going into shock. Sounded like a good idea. But what was Wufei sorry about, Relena couldn't have told him or anyone what had happened.

"He attacked and instinct took over. There was nothing I could do."Wufei said softly.

What was Wufei talking about? Who attacked him? Duo thought muzzily. It was getting cold. Definitely shock. He figured he had a few more minutes before he passed out. Might as well use them to figure out what the hell Wufei was apologizing for.

"He died a noble death in combat. That might have been what he wanted." Wufei said, wondering why Duo was so silent. Was he even in there? Was he alive?

Duo was trying to piece together the conversation. He thinking was getting a little disjointed. Someone was dead. Duh, they had been in a battle. It was getting a lot disjointed if he couldn't think beyond that. And he couldn't. he was tired, he hurt and he wanted T-chan to tell him that it was okay and he was still a good kid. That he still loved him. That he would take care of him and have this nightmare go away too.

He flipped the private comm channel on trying to figure out who out of the hundreds that had died Wufei was talking about. Some one else was trying to get in touch with him. Une's face came on the screen as she frantically repeated his name. "Duo. You okay? Relena's with me. Duo? Duo, talk to me. I know it hurts."

"Lady Une."Duo said softly, he was too tired to tease her. Did Relena blab everything?

"Duo. I'm sorry. He's dead. I made the surrender offer to the colonies."Une said softly, blinking tears out of her eyes.

"That's what Wufei's talking about."Duo said slowly, his words starting to slur. It dawned on him a heartbeat later. Wufei killed Treize. Finally. After all this fucking time. Epyon had the last laugh after all. That bastard machine and Zechs. They both died at the same time. T-chan was going to have to put up with the asshole in the afterlife too. Poor T-chan. "Okay."

"Duo?"Lady Une asked worriedly. He sounded so calm. So hurt. So dazed. What had happened to him?

"Bye. Lady Une. Don't be sad. He'd told you it was inelegant."

"Duo!"Une sounded frantic as he shut off his radio.

Duo didn't say anything as he slowly brought up Shinigami's engines. He wondered if this was how Heero had felt before meeting Wufei. That there was a big wall between him and the rest of the world. The guys started to step back, wondering what the blazes he was doing now. Quatre and Wufei were screaming something at him, which he ignored, taking off as soon as he could. They all watched in amazement as he left with out a word. He'd land eventually. He wasn't suicidal, just so tired.

It wasn't worth it anymore. T-chan was dead. He wasn't going to ever make it better again for him. The war was over and he needed to get away from everyone. It was just too much. He thought he could make it back to their cabin before he passed out. He could hide Shinigami in the lake and figure out what to do next after he healed. He was too something, he didn't know what to do about anything now. Too drained to even figure out what he was feeling.

THE END


End file.
